Air travel can feel like it rarely goes as expected, but with a little bit of cautious planning, your trip may yield better results.
If you want to avoid delays, it may be helpful not to book flights out of the airports that see the most of them, and recent data from AirHelp can help you plan. The 10-year-old air passenger rights organization looked at flights departing in February 2023 to see which airports had the most delayed flights.
At the top of the list is Kahului Airport, Maui's main airport, with 30.82% of flights disrupted. Next is Reno/Tahoe International Airport with 29.15% of flights disrupted followed by another Nevada airport, Paradise's Harry Reid International Airport with 28.52% of flights disrupted. Two other major airports. also have close to as many delays: Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport had 28.51% of flights disrupted and Boston's Logan International Airport had 28.23% of flights disrupted.
And while many of these airports are the only ones in their destinations, if you can avoid a stop or layover in these cities, that may help with travel planning.
If your flight is delayed, you may as well try and cash in on it. Air Help offers assistance in receiving compensation for delayed flights on all airlines, up to $700. Time is money, but that money may just buy you another trip, so, well, plan accordingly. Maybe sitting in the Maui airport for a few extra hours in exchange for cash isn't the worst way to end a vacation.