NYC airports face steep increase in flight cancellations this summer

New York Post

6 days ago

These airports are definitely not ready for takeoff.
Travelers are faced with a spike in flight cancellations this summer, compared to last year — and NYC's already unpopular airports are some of the worst offenders, new data showed.
Flight tracker FlightAware crunched the numbers — and found that the cancellation rate is up about 29%, CBS News reported.
Advertisement
5 Airports have reported a spike in flight cancellations compared to last year.
REUTERS
Between the week of Memorial Day and mid-July, the return-to-gate rate jumped from 1.4% in 2024 to 1.8% this year.
That's despite nearly 256,000 fewer — about 18% — flights having been scheduled for this year's peak season, compared to last.
Advertisement
And of all the airports in the country, the less-than-holy trinity Big Apple flyers are forced to contend with are being called out as some of worst offenders.
The much-ballyhooed 'new' LaGuardia Airport was the 5th worst, and perennially unpleasant John F. Kennedy International Airport was the 9th — while personnel-issue-plagued Newark Liberty International Airport came close behind at number 10.
5 New York City airports have some of the worst cancellation rates in the country.
Markus Mainka – stock.adobe.com
5 Summer travel has been a hassle, especially at New York City airports.
REUTERS
Advertisement
LaGuardia Airport has canceled about 5% of flights so far this summer — a 65% increase from last year.
This has sunk its on-time performance rate down 6.1%.
JFK Airport has canceled about 3% of flights this season — a 42% increase from 2024.
Advertisement
And over in New Jersey, Newark has cancelled about 3% of flights taking off this summer — a 28% jump from last year.
The top three offenders were further south: Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington D.C., Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
However, not all the airports in the country are scrambling.
Some have actually decreased their cancellation rates compared to this time last summer.
5 Between the week of Memorial Day and mid-July, the cancellation rate jumped from 1.4% in 2024 to 1.8% this year.
REUTERS
5 However, some airports have actually decreased their cancellation rates compared to this time last summer.
AP
Miami International Airport's cancellation rate has dropped 40% with on-time performance up 7.3%.
Just up the road, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport has reported a cancellation rate that is 25% lower than last year, with on-time performance up 5.6%.
Advertisement
And if your flight isn't cancelled, but you have to drop out of the trip for another reason, you can just sell it to another lucky traveler.
Nonrefundable vacations can leave thwarted trippers thousands out of pocket — and some are turning to increasingly popular online marketplaces to find someone to fill their seat.
These sites allow sellers to post nonrefundable flights, room bookings or packages they can no longer use, and eager buyers can scoop them up — often at dramatic discounts, typically between 20% and 30% off the original price.