AUSTIN (KXAN) — One out of every five flights in the U.S. was delayed last year, according to federal data. But some airports saw many more travel headaches than others.
Data from the Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) shows which airlines and airports see the most delays and cancellations.
BTS uses arriving flights when reporting delayed and canceled flights. A flight is considered delayed if it arrives at the gate 15 or more minutes after the scheduled arrival time.
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
In most months in 2022, AUS saw more than 70% of arriving flights reaching the gate on time. That dipped to 66% in December, as Southwest Airlines was rocked with thousands of delays and cancellations nationwide.
Seven percent of all flights scheduled to arrive in Austin in December were canceled. For Southwest specifically, 13.5% of scheduled flights to Austin were canceled.
February saw the most cancellations — about 8% — the impact of a major winter storm that brought snow, sleet and freezing rain to Austin.
Throughout the entire year, 75% of flights to AUS arrived on time in 2022. That’s the lowest on-time figure since at least 2004, according to BTS data.
Unsurprising, 2020 saw the most cancellations, as air travel ground to a halt in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. About 7% of all scheduled flights to Austin that year were canceled.
When looking at individual airlines, JetBlue Airways saw the most delays at AUS last year. More than a third of all arriving JetBlue flights were delayed by at least 15 minutes. That meant just 59% of flights arrived on time.
Delta Air Lines had the best on-time performance at AUS, with 79.6% of flights arriving on time in 2022. Alaska Airlines and United Airlines were right behind, at 79.3% and 79.1% respectively.
When regional and subsidiary airlines are included, Endeavor Air had the highest proportion of on-time flights, at 86%. The airline is owned by Delta and operates as Delta Connection.
Republic Airways, which operates flights as American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express, is the top offender in Austin for most canceled flights, with 8.6% of all arrivals canceled in 2022. Low-cost carrier Allegiant Airlines canceled about 4% of flights scheduled to arrive in Austin.
Hawaiian Airlines was the only airline not to report any cancellations in 2022. All 158 of its scheduled flights arrived in Austin, 71.5% of which were on time.
Airports in Texas
BTS tracks arrival flight data for 26 airports across Texas, from major hubs like Dallas/Fort Worth and George Bush Intercontinental in Houston, to regional airports like Lubbock and Abilene.
Dallas Love Field saw the most delays, with 23% of all arriving flights delayed by at least 15 minutes. Another 3.8% of flights were canceled throughout the year. In December alone, Southwest, which operates a hub at DAL, canceled 17.5% of arriving flights.
El Paso International saw 22.8% of arriving flights delayed in 2022, while McAllen Miller International and Austin-Bergstrom tied for the third-highest percentage of delayed flights among Texas airports, at 22.5%.
Victoria and East Texas Regional Airport, in Longview, reported the fewest delays, each at under 10%.
When it comes to cancellations, Wichita Falls saw the most, with 5.4% of arriving flights canceled in 2022. Abilene and Del Rio both had fewer than 2% of arrivals canceled.
Airports nationwide
According to the BTS data, 1,376,798 flights were delayed nationwide in 2022, out of more than 5.1 million. That’s about 20.5% of all scheduled domestic flights in the country. Meanwhile, 181,286 fights were canceled, about 2.7% of the total.
Florida is particularly prone to delays, with six of the top 10 airports with most delayed arrivals. West Palm Beach is the worst offender, with three in 10 flights arriving at least 15 minutes late in 2022.
Fort Myers, Florida, and Buffalo, New York, had the most canceled arrivals, each with 5.5% of all flights. New York’s LaGuardia Airport was third, the only other airport with at least 5% of flights canceled.
Use our interactive database below to see the statistics for a specific airport. You can search for a specific airport or city using the search feature in the top left.
Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International is the busiest airport in the country, with more than 300,000 domestic arrivals in 2022. About 82% of those arrived on time.
