These are the worst airports in the world for flight delays and cancellations right now

Looking for a seamless airport experience? You may want to think twice about your departure point of choice
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Bleary-eyed after midnight, I reloaded the United Airlines app for the umpteenth time, desperately hoping my 8pm flight to London Heathrow, now scheduled for 1.30am, would finally start boarding. Instead, I received a text at 12.39 am that the flight had been cancelled.

Perhaps it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. It was 1 June – just days into the summer travel season –  and I was at Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the world’s top airports for flight cancellations at a time when on-time departures have become unicorns in the current realities of international travel.

While the time of day can play a major role in flight disruptions (my prime-time departure didn’t help my odds), the airports themselves may be an even more crucial factor, as certain ones have recently developed a track record for frequent cancellations. Aviation intelligence company FlightAware compiled new data revealing which international airports have had the most cancelled flights from the period of 27 May until 31 July 2022, to help travellers better plan for smooth journeys. 

Here are the worst airports in the world in terms of flight cancellations – plus some alternative facilities to fly into instead.

Two of the worst airports are in New York

New York City’s airports ranked among the top 10 worst in the globe for delays and cancellations so far this summer. LaGuardia airport saw 7.4 per cent of its overall flights cancelled and 27 per cent delayed, making it the seventh of the worst airports in the world for cancellations and the top international airport for cancellations not located in China, a country whose airports by far have the most cancellations on an international scale. Not far behind LaGuardia is New Jersey's Newark Liberty, ranking ninth with 7.2 per cent of summer flights ending in cancellations and 32 per cent of flights delayed.

New York's largest airport, John F. Kennedy International, fared better with just 3.3 per cent cancellations, giving it a rank of 30th place on FlightAware's list. But 32.5 per cent of flights do leave the hub delayed. 

That said, choosing alternative options in the region can quell the frustrations. About 70 miles north – or about a 90-minute drive – is a far calmer international airport option tucked away in the Hudson Valley: New York Stewart. New airline Play services Reykjavik, Iceland, from there, nonstop, with connections through Europe.

Other US airports with high cancellations and delays

It's not just New York's airports that have left US travellers high and dry. Other domestic airports with vast numbers of delays and cancellations include Washington DC's Reagan National airport took the 21st spot on FlightAware's list with 5.1 per cent of its flights cancelled this summer and 27.9 per cent delayed. Other domestic airports that made the list include Boston Logan, in 27th place, with 3.4 per cent of flights cancelled and 24.9 per cent of flights delayed; Charlotte Douglas airport in 29th place with 3.3 per cent of flights cancelled and 29.8 per cent of flights delayed; and St. Louis's Lambert airport with 3.1 per cent of flights cancelled and 24.4 per cent of flights delayed.

International airports 

Outside of the US, international airports are having their fare share of operational problems, too. In North America, Canada’s Toronto Pearson airport comes in at 15th with a 6.5 per cent cancellation rate and an astounding 55.8 per cent of flights delayed this summer. “Toronto airport has been plagued this summer by staffing and operational issues as it continues to rank high in cancellations and highest or worst in North American major airports for flight delays,” a FlightAware spokesperson says. 

In the South Pacific, Australia also has a pair of cities in the mix: Melbourne Tullamarine (MEL) in 17th place with a 6 per cent cancellation rate and Sydney in 18th with 5.8 per cent of flights canceled. In Asia, Jakarta's airport has the worst statistics outside of China, with 6.6 per cent of flights cancelled and 33.1 per cent of flights delayed giving it the 11th overall spot on the list.

Europe's worst airports include Norway’s Oslo Gardermoen, ranking 14th with 6.5 per cent cancellations and Germany’s Frankfurt in 24th with a 4 per cent cancellation rate. “Frankfurt, often regarded as one of the best run European airports, has like other major European airports, been struggling with staffing problems even suffering a July one-day ground workers union strike that led to mass cancellations," according to a FlightAware spokesperson. "Frankfurt moved from No. 50 on the list earlier in the year up to No. 24 in the past two months.” 

Smaller airports may be a better choice

Short of totally avoiding cities with high cancellations, travellers can look at smaller, regional airports as another solution. While marquee name airports may seem like an easier choice at booking, the more passengers and more flights there are, the higher the chance for things to go awry, whereas smaller airports are more fine-tuned into the needs of their flights.

For instance London – whose Heathrow came in at 42nd with a 2.2 per cent cancellation rate and 40.7 per cent of flights delayed, and Gatwick in 49th with 1.9 per cent cancellations and 41.7 per cent delay rate – aren’t the only ones serving international passengers in the English capital city. London "has alternative airports for international trips such as London Stansted, London City Airport, and London Luton,” says Laura Citron, CEO of Visit London. Each of these three smaller airports have far fewer cancellations and delays – so few that they didn't make FlightAware's list.

International airports with the fewest cancellations

Even though it seems like chaos is reigning at most airports this summer, there are fortunately still some facilities around the globe that are operating in an orderly fashion. Among those with less than 0.3 per cent rate of cancellation this summer are: Vietnam’s Tan Son Nhat airport serving Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi, Philippines’ Manila Ninoy Aquino, Singapore Changi, Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Qatar’s Hamad in Doha, and South Korea’s Jeju (CJU).