Make New York Post a Preferred Source These airports are making passengers want to fly — off the handle.
As travel gets ever more irksome and expensive, a recent report reveals the American airports that are the most and least stressful for flyers.
To compile the list of fame and shame, Rightway Parking analyzed 55 major US airports using four factors: delay rate, cancellation rate, increase in delays since 2021, and how long it takes to reach the airport from downtown.
Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) ranked as the most stressful airport in the study, followed by O’Hare International (ORD), Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA), and John F. Kennedy International (JFK).
As Rightaway notes, the most stressful airports rarely perform poorly in just one area, as the high-stress designation typically reflects a confluence of frustrations.
For instance, DFW has a 27.86% delay rate with a 33.67% increase in delays, while also sitting 22 miles from downtown, an unholy trinity that helps explain its high stress ranking.
Similarly, JFK’s 45-minute commute time from downtown, along with its 20% delay rate and 2% cancellation rate, helped the NYC hub earn 4th place.
While Dallas/Ft. Worth takes the cake for the highest percentage of delays, West Palm Beach and Denver trail close behind with roughly 1 in 4 flights leaving late from their gates.
Meanwhile, O’Hare has a slightly lower delay rate at 24.68%, but delays have climbed to 42.77%, and the trip from downtown to the airport takes nearly an hour.
While Reagan National sits much closer to the city, that convenience is coupled with a 3.86% cancellation rate, the highest among the top three high-stress hubs. LaGuardia trails close behind with a 3.04% cancellation rate, landing the airport sixth for most stressful.
In terms of timeliness, delays at Reagan National have jumped 73.92% since 2021.
Other jetports have also seen their punctuality plummet over the last five years; at Charlotte Douglas, delays have increased nearly 80%, and 66% at Minneapolis-St. Paul.
In contrast, delays at Houston Hobby are down 23.77% over the same period.
In slightly friendlier skies, Salt Lake City International (SLC) ranked as the least stressful airport in the study, followed by San Jose International (SJC) and Honolulu Daniel K. Inouye International (HNL).
All three are blessed with short commute times from city centers and cancellation rates below 1%, putting the odds in your favor for a smooth day of travel.
For optimal transit time, Boston Logan is a scant 2.7 miles from downtown, and travelers can reach both Omaha and Albuquerque airports in about 8 minutes.
Earlier this week, hundreds of flights were canceled throughout the Northeast, including more than 600 into and out of Newark Liberty International Airport, as an outage related to damaged communications lines hit every major airport in the New York City area.
