Study Ranks Airports Most Hit by Holiday Weather Delays

An Upgraded Points analysis of five years of flight data identifies the U.S. airports and airlines with the largest shares of weather-related holiday delays.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Air Travel

Study Ranks Airports Most Hit by Holiday Weather Delays

Live Poll

Do you think holiday flights are more weather-delayed than they used to be?

Upgraded Points analyzed five years of Bureau of Transportation Statistics flight data to rank airports and airlines by the share of delayed flights caused by weather from November through January. Weather accounted for an average of 21.9% of delayed flights at the analyzed airports during those months.

Why it matters

Holiday travel adds passengers to an already busy air system, and weather can compound that pressure with added uncertainty for travelers. The rankings show that weather exposure varies widely by airport and airline across the country.

Weather caused an average of 21.9% of holiday delays across the 60 busiest U.S. airports analyzed, with Alaska Airlines highest among nine major carriers at 27.8% and Hawaiian Airlines lowest at 7.9%. The study covers November 2021 through January 2026 and draws on federal flight records.

The players

Upgraded Points

Upgraded Points is a travel publication that produces data-driven rankings and analyses of airline and airport performance for consumers.

Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines is a major U.S. carrier based in Seattle that operates a large network across the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

The details

Upgraded Points found that San Francisco International ranked first, followed by LaGuardia and Seattle-Tacoma, with weather driving the largest shares of their delays. Newark Liberty and Ted Stevens Anchorage also ranked in the top five, while airports in Hawaii and Los Angeles had among the lowest weather-related shares.

November 2021 through January 2026: five-year period of flight data analyzed in the study.
November through January: holiday travel months measured for weather-related delay shares.

Travel Outlook

The study builds on the Bureau of Transportation Statistics on-time performance reporting, which tracks delay causes for U.S. airlines and airports. Isolating weather's share during the holiday months shows how seasonal conditions reshape which airports and carriers travelers are most likely to encounter disruption at.

Travelers flying through the highest-ranked airports during November through January may want to build extra connection time and check flight status before departure. Those flying through airports with lower weather shares may face fewer weather-driven disruptions during the holiday period.

The takeaway

Weather is a major source of holiday flight delays, and its impact varies sharply by airport and airline. Checking which carriers and hubs carry the greatest weather exposure can help travelers plan connections more realistically.