ConsumerAffairs Report Ranks Major US Airports by Reliability
A new study examines flight cancellations, delays, and diversions to determine the most and least reliable major airports across the country.
Los Angeles International Airport has been ranked as the most reliable major airport in the United States, according to a new report from ConsumerAffairs. The study evaluated flight performance across the country by analyzing cancellation rates, delays, and flight diversions using data from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation.
Behind LAX, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport secured the second and third spots respectively. Salt Lake City came in fourth, while San Francisco International Airport landed at number six and Las Vegas' Harry Reid International Airport took seventh place, showing a strong overall performance for West Coast and western hubs.
Researchers noted that the top-performing airports shared a common characteristic: exceptionally low frequencies of cancellations and lengthy delays. Despite securing the top ranking for flight reliability, LAX continues to face separate challenges related to its unhoused population within the terminals, a situation that has drawn ongoing scrutiny and media attention over the years.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was designated as the least reliable large airport in the nation. DCA recorded the highest cancellation rate among large hubs at 2.8 percent and canceled its final flight of the day more frequently than any other major airport.
ConsumerAffairs pointed out that nearly half of the delays recorded at Reagan National were attributed to incoming flights arriving late, indicating that the airport itself was not entirely responsible for the schedule disruptions. Other major facilities rounding out the bottom ten included Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, Miami International, Philadelphia International, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, LaGuardia, Tampa International, Washington Dulles, and George Bush Intercontinental.
The study also evaluated medium and small-sized facilities. In those respective categories, President Donald J. Trump International in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Asheville Regional Airport in North Carolina recorded the lowest reliability rankings.