These Were the Worst U.S. Airports of 2019 in Terms of Flight Disruptions

Can you believe that we’re nearly a month into 2020? With plenty of travel opportunities still to come this year, and millions more hours set to be spent in U.S. airports, today’s tip focuses on the very worst U.S. airports from 2019 as determined by AirHelp, “the world’s leading passenger rights company.” By mining and sharing airport and flight data from the last calendar year, AirHelp hopes to give 2020 flyers a better sense of what to expect at airports this year. (It did something similar last Thanksgiving.) It determined, for example, that among U.S. carriers, American Airlines tallied the most flight disruptions in 2019. It also found that 6am-11:59am was the best time to fly to avoid flight disruptions.

As for the worst U.S. airports of 2019? Here’s AirHelp’s ranking, from most disruptions (#1) to least (#10), followed by the five most-disrupted routes of last year:

The worst U.S. airports in terms of flight disruptions in 2019

1. Chicago O’Hare International (ORD)
2. Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW)
3. Denver International (DEN)
4. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International (ATL)
5. Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
6. Los Angeles International (LAX)
7. Charlotte Airport (CLT)
8. New York LaGuardia (LGA)
9. San Francisco International (SFO)
10. Houston George Bush Intercontinental (IAH)

The most disrupted routes in 2019

1. Chicago O’Hare International (ORD) to New York LaGuardia (LGA)
2. Los Angeles International (LAX) to San Francisco International (SFO)
3. New York LaGuardia (LGA) to Chicago O’Hare (ORD)
4. San Francisco International (SFO) to Los Angeles International (LAX)
5. New York LaGuardia (LGA) to Toronto Lester B Pearson (YYZ)

What was your least favorite airport in 2019?

Did one U.S. airport frustrate you more last year than the rest did? Or did you find any particularly easy to fly out of/into? Please share your experiences in the comments!

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