Worst airports for summer travel revealed

By Talker Staff

Memorial Day kicked off the 2023 summer season with air travel traffic surpassing the holiday’s 2019 pre-pandemic levels. You may want to brace for turbulence if you’re taking a trip this summer.

Some airports have historically been more susceptible to travel disruptions, such as flight delays and cancellations during the peak travel season, providing a worse experience for travelers.

To determine which airports are the worst for summer travel, Forbes Advisor compared the nation’s 100 busiest airports across 10 metrics spanning two key categories: on-time arrival performance and airfare price during the summer travel season.

Top 5 Worst Airports For Summer Travel

1. Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB) – Sanford, Florida

Orlando Sanford International Airport’s score: 100 out of 100

• With the lowest percentage of on-time flights (66.72%) among the 100 busiest airports, Orlando Sanford International Airport tops the list of the worst airports for summer travel.
• SFB ranks second worst for two of the metrics that we considered: percentage of weather delays (2.21%) and percentage of flight delays caused by late-arriving aircraft (15.06%).
• SFB also reports the 16th highest percent of flight delays caused by the National Aviation System (6.26%), which includes delays caused by airport operations, heavy traffic volume and air traffic control.

2. St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) – St. Petersburg, Florida

St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport’s score: 99.10 out of 100

• St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport ranks worst for both percentage of weather delays (3.66%) and the percentage of flight delays caused by late-arriving aircraft (15.07%).
• PIE also reports the second-lowest percentage of on-time flights (67.09%) and tied with Southwest Florida International Airport for having the 13th highest percentage of diverted flights (0.41%) among the 100 busiest airports.

3. Asheville Regional Airport (AVL) – Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville Regional Airport’s score: 97.94 out of 100

• Asheville Regional Airport has the fourth-highest percentage of weather delays (1.74%) and the sixth-highest percentage of flight delays caused by late-arriving aircraft (8.89%) among the 100 busiest airports.
• AVL also reports the eighth-lowest percentage of on-time flights (73.58%) and the 15th-highest percentage of National Aviation System delays (6.32%), which includes delays caused by airport operations, heavy traffic volume and air traffic control.

4. Orlando International Airport (MCO) – Orlando, Florida

Orlando International Airport’s score: 90.45 out of 100

• Orlando International Airport ranks fourth worst for three of the metrics we considered: percentage of on-time flights (73.06%), percentage of flight delays attributable to the National Aviation System (8.18%) and percentage of flights diverted (0.66%).

5. Bradley International Airport (BDL) – Hartford, Connecticut

Bradley International Airport’s score: 89.52 out of 100

• Bradley International Airport has the sixth-lowest percentage of on-time flights (73.40%) and is tied with Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport for having the seventh-highest percentage of weather delays (1.63%) among the 100 busiest airports.
• BDL also ties with Albany International Airport and Tucson International Airport for having the eighth-highest percentage of air carrier delays (9.03%).

Editorial Note: This story was originally published on Forbes Advisor.