These Are the Best Airports to Get Stuck This Holiday Season
When it comes to airports in the United States, there are clear winners and losers. Some offer amazing places to eat and flights that are almost always on time, while others have tons of delays and one Hudson News where you can grab an overpriced Chex Mix package to wait out your 8-hour stopover.
Orbitz recently compiled a list of the best and worst US airports to get stuck this holiday season. While you certainly don’t want to get stuck anywhere , if you need to book a connecting flight why not consider one of these airports?
I was personally thrilled to see Las Vegas take 3rd place. A few years ago, I started deliberately directing my flights there just because the idea of being stuck in Las Vegas with many inexpensive hotels and delicious food (and gambling at the airport) sounded like a victory:
1. Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport – Jackson
Flights departing on time: 84.93%
Canceled flights: 1.22%
Number of outlets: 221
Number of food outlets: 100
2. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
Departures on time: 82.19%
Canceled flights: 0.61%
Number of outlets: 37
Number of food outlets: 42
3. McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas.
Flights departing on time: 81.47%
Canceled flights: 0.74%
Number of outlets: 52
Number of food outlets: 104
4. O’Hare International Airport, Chicago.
Flights departing on time: 79.91%
Canceled flights: 1.92%
Number of outlets: 79
Number of food outlets: 133
5. San Francisco International Airport.
Flights departing on time: 73.61%
Canceled flights: 1.41%
Number of outlets: 70
Number of food outlets: 66
6. John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York
Flights departing on time: 75.76%
Canceled flights: 2.84%
Number of outlets: 37
Number of food outlets: 148
7. Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport
Flights departing on time: 82.41%
Canceled flights: 1.54%
Number of outlets: 64
Number of food outlets: 72
8. Denver International Airport.
Flights departing on time: 83.88%
Canceled flights: 0.66%
Number of outlets: 52
Number of food outlets: 73
9. Orlando International Airport.
Flights departing on time: 78.19%
Canceled flights: 2.07%
Number of outlets: 74
Number of food outlets: 67
10. Los Angeles International Airport.
Departures on time: 80.51%
Canceled flights: 0.91%
Number of outlets: 16
Number of food outlets: 105
11. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
Flights departing on time: 81.17%
Canceled flights: 0.82%
Number of outlets: 49
Number of food outlets: 62
12. Miami International Airport
Flights departing on time: 80.06%
Canceled flights: 2.54%
Number of outlets: 70
Number of food outlets: 65
13. George W. Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston
Flights departing on time: 83.22%
Canceled flights: 2.96%
Number of outlets: 112
Number of food outlets: 25
14. Newark Liberty International Airport.
Flights departing on time: 68.41%
Canceled flights: 3.11%
Number of outlets: 17
Number of food outlets: 22
15. Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
Departure time: 83.01
Canceled flights: 1.84%
Number of outlets: 36
Number of food outlets: 49
With that said, your mileage may vary. I personally know that almost every flight I fly from JFK is delayed as well as from San Francisco (where I live) depending on the time of day due to our fog.
However, if you are booking a vacation trip and are trying to choose between two stops, choosing one of them is likely to be a good bet.
And if you do get stuck, Orbitz has also indicated what to do at each airport .