Bleary-eyed after midnight, I reloaded the United Airlines app for the umpteenth time, desperately hoping my 8 p.m. flight to London Heathrow, now scheduled for 1:30 a.m., would finally start boarding. Instead, I received a text at 12:39 a.m.: my flight had been canceled.
Perhaps it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. It was June 1—just days into the summer travel season—and I was at Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the world’s top airports for flight cancellations at a time when on-time departures have become unicorns in the current realities of international travel.
While the time of day can play a major role in flight disruptions (my prime-time departure didn’t help my odds), the airports themselves may be an even more crucial factor, as certain ones have developed a track record for frequent cancellations this summer. Aviation intelligence company FlightAware compiled new data revealing which international airports have had the most canceled flights from the period of May 27 through July 31 of this year, to help travelers better plan for smooth journeys.
Here are the worst airports in the world in terms of flight cancelations—plus some alternative facilities to fly into instead.
Two of the worst airports are in New York
New York City’s airports ranked among the top 10 worst in the globe for delays and cancellations so far this summer. LaGuardia airport saw 7.4 percent of its overall flights canceled and 27 percent delayed, making it the seventh of the worst airports in the world for cancellations and the top international airport for cancellations not located in China, a country whose airports by far have the most cancellations on an international scale. Not far behind LaGuardia is New Jersey's Newark Liberty ranking with ninth in the globe with 7.2 percent of summer flights ending in cancellations and 32 percent of flights delayed.
New York's largest airport, John F. Kennedy International fared better with just 3.3 percent cancellations, giving it a rank of 30th place on FlightAware's list. But 32.5 percent of flights do leave the hub delayed.
That said, choosing alternative options in the region can quell the frustrations. About 70 miles north—or about a 90-minute drive—is a far calmer international airport option tucked away in the Hudson Valley: New York Stewart. The new airline Play services Reykjavik, Iceland, from there, nonstop, with connections through Europe.
Other U.S. airports with high cancellations and delays
It's not just New York's airports that have left U.S. travelers high and dry. Other domestic airports with vast numbers of delays and cancellations include Washington, D.C.'s Reagan National airport took the 21st spot on FlightAware's list with 5.1 percent of its flights canceled this summer and 27.9 percent delayed. Other domestic airports that made the list include Boston Logan, in 27th place 3.4 percent of flights canceled and 24.9 percent of flights delayed; Charlotte Douglas airport in 29th place with 3.3 percent of flights canceled and 29.8 percent of flights delayed; and St. Louis's Lambert airport with 3.1 percent of flights canceled and 24.4 percent of flights delayed.
International airports
Outside of the U.S., international airports are having their fare share of operational problems, too. In North America, Canada’s Toronto Pearson airport is comes in at 15th with a 6.5 percent cancellation rate and an astounding 55.8 percent of flights delayed this summer. “Toronto airport has been plagued this summer by staffing and operational issues as it continues to rank high in cancellations and highest or worst in North American major airports for flight delays,” a FlightAware spokesperson says.
In the South Pacific, Australia also has a pair of cities in the mix: Melbourne Tullamarine (MEL) in 17th place with a 6 percent cancellation rate and Sydney in 18th with 5.8 percent of flights canceled. In Asia, Jakarta's airport has the worst statistics outside of China, with its 6.6 percent of flights canceled and 33.1 percent of flights delayed giving it the 11th overall spot on the list.
Europe's worst airports include Norway’s Oslo Gardermoen, ranking 14th with 6.5 percent cancellations and Germany’s Frankfurt in 24th with a 4 percent cancellation rate. “Frankfurt, often regarded as one of the best run European airports, has like other major European airports, been struggling with staffing problems even suffering a July one-day ground workers union strike that led to mass cancellations," according to a FlightAware spokesperson. "Frankfurt moved from No. 50 on the list earlier in the year up to No. 24 in the past two months.”
Smaller airports may be a better choice
Short of totally avoiding cities with high cancellations, travelers can look at smaller, regional airports as another solution. While marquee name airports may seem like an easier choice at booking, the more passengers and more flights there are, the higher the chance for things to go awry, whereas smaller airports are more fine-tuned into the needs of their flights.
For instance London—whose Heathrow came in at 42nd with a 2.2 percent cancellation rate and 40.7 percent of flights delayed, and Gatwick in 49th with 1.9 percent cancellations and 41.7 percent delay rate—aren’t the only ones serving international passengers in the English capital city. London "has alternative airports for international trips such as London Stansted, London City Airport, and London Luton,” says Laura Citron, CEO of Visit London. Each of these three smaller airports have far fewer cancellations and delays—so few that they didn't make FlightAware's list.
International airports with the fewest cancellations
Even though it seems like chaos is reigning at most airports this summer, there are fortunately still some facilities around the globe that are operating in an orderly fashion. Among those with less than 0.3 percent rate of cancelation this summer are: Vietnam’s Tan Son Nhat airport serving Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi, Philippines’ Manila Ninoy Aquino, Singapore Changi, Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Qatar’s Hamad in Doha, and South Korea’s Jeju (CJU).