These Are the U.S. Airports With the Longest Delay Times

Perhaps nothing can wreck a travel day more than a delayed flight. After all, you’ve done your job of getting to the airport with plenty of time to spare, so of course, the plane should be on time, too. While every airport and airline can have delays, some are far worse than others. And according to a new study by the travel information website Places to Travel, one airport in Utah should be feeling ashamed right now. 

In late April, the company shared its new study, which analyzed data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics for almost two million delayed flights across the United States from January 2023 to February 2024 to see which airport has the longest average delay per flight. After looking at all the data, the team found that that (dis) honor goes to Provo Airport (PVU) in Utah.

Here, the researchers noted, “The average late flight was delayed by 1 hour, 42 minutes, and 31 seconds.” Additionally, of the 2,194 flights that landed at this airport, “a whopping 39.74 percent (872) of those were delayed – the highest percentage of any airport throughout the list. Due to the airport being relatively small, there were only a total of 88,526 minutes’ worth of delays, however this still works out to 61 days’ worth of delays.” 

Joining Provo on the list is a much larger airport — Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB), in Florida, which came in second thanks to its late flights being delayed by 1 hour, 34 minutes, and 53 seconds, on average. 

“A total of 9,847 flights landed at Orlando Sanford International Airport, with 28.09 percent (2,766) of those being delayed by 15 minutes or more,” the team explained. “From January 2023 to February 2024, passengers experienced a massive 4,095 days’ worth of delays.” 

Rounding out the top three is Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) in Texas, whose late flights are delayed by an average of 1 hour, 29 minutes, and 12 seconds. And, according to the findings, DFW saw the highest “number of flights arriving late of any airport, with 66,105 of the 308,806 flights arriving more than 15 minutes late – equal to 21.41 percent of all flights.” Because of this, DFW has the biggest overall delay time of any airport, “with travelers experiencing a staggering 4,096 days’ worth of delays.” 

Joining these spots on the list is Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) in North Carolina, in fourth with average late flight delays of 1 hour, 28 minutes, and 36 seconds, followed by Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) in Pennsylvania in fifth with average delay time of 1 hour, 26 minutes, and 32 seconds per delayed flight. 

John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York took sixth place, followed by St. Pete Clearwater International Airport (PIE) in Florida, Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM) in Alabama, Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) in Florida, and Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA) in Arizona rounding out the top 10.

If your plane is severely delayed know that you may be entitled to compensation. Not sure how to get it? Read Travel + Leisure‘s guide to flight delay compensation and maybe get a little cash back in your pocket for your troubles.