Each year, tens of millions of travelers visit Florida, but their flights may not go as smoothly as anticipated. New research has revealed the US airports with the highest rates of delays, and Florida has three among the top ten.
Data collection experts, SOAX, analyzed flight data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics between April 2023 and March 2024 to determine which airports have the highest rate of delays. A flight was considered delayed if it left 15 minutes or more later than its scheduled departure time.
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International has the highest rate of delays in the US, with 31.9% of departing flights (29,235 out of 91,561) being delayed in the last year. According to the study, 17,043 of the delayed flights were in part a result of air carrier delays and 16,323 flight delays were partially due to national aviation systems.
Orlando International Airport placed fourth on the list. Known as OIA, but officially listed as MCO, more than a quarter of passengers (27%) encountered delays, with 45,171 out of 167,595 flights being delayed, including 26,292 delays due to national aviation systems while, 26,180 flights were late due to air carrier delays.
Miami International Airport (MIA) in Florida, ranked sixth. The study found that 25.5%, or 27,002 of MIA’s 105,843 flight departures were delayed. MIA recorded 16,536 flights delayed due to national aviation systems and 16,023 flights delayed due to air carrier delays.
The US 10 airports with the highest rate of delays
| Airport | State | % of Flights Delayed |
|---|---|---|
| Ft. Lauderdale – Hollywood Int’l | FL | 31.9% |
| Baltimore / Washington Int’l | MD | 28.9% |
| Aspen/Pitkin County | CO | 27.5% |
| Orlando Int’l | FL | 27% |
| Chicago Midway | IL | 26% |
| Miami Int’l | FL | 25.5% |
| Harry Reid Int’l | NV | 25.1% |
| Denver Int’l | CO | 24.8% |
| Dallas Love Field | TX | 23.7% |
| Dallas Fort Worth Int’l | TX | 22.7% |
