Experts Expect Florida and Dallas Airports to Be the Worst for Travelers This Summer

While airlines around the world are currently struggling with the logistics of skyrocketing demand from people looking to travel, the problem becomes particularly acute in the summer.

Last year, social media was full of images of check-in lines snaking outside the airport and rooms full of suitcases separated from their owners due to a dearth of baggage handling staff. Numbers from the Airlines Reporting Corporation show that little has changed in a year — ticket sales are up 7% and the summer of 2023 could see even more airport chaos.

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Looking at percentages of flights arriving on time as well as ticket prices during the busy summer season, Forbes Advisor identified Orlando Sanford International Airport as the single worst place to pass through this summer — nearly 34% of flights between June and August arrived late last year while 1.96% of all of its departing flights were canceled. While not even Orlando's primary airport, the secondary airport frequently used by low-cost carriers makes up 6.26% of all national aviation delays.

You May Want to Avoid These Busy Airports This Summer

Two other airports in Florida, St. Pete-Clearwater and Orlando International Airport, ended up on the top five of the worst airport experiences this summer while Texas also provided many contenders — Dallas Love Field Airport, El Paso International Airport and McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville all made the top 10 due to high rates of delays and cancelations.

St. Pete-Clearwater "also reports the second lowest percentage of on-time flights (67.09%) and tied with Southwest Florida International Airport for having the 13th highest percentage of diverted flights (0.41%) among the 100 busiest airports," write the study's authors.

When it comes to great airport experiences, Lihue Airport on the Hawaiian island of Kauai ranked best in the country when it comes to low likelihood of anything going wrong — nearly 88% of its flights leave on time while cancelations sit at 1.47%.

"Four of the top five best airports for summer travel are in Hawaii, including Lihue Airport (LIH), Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole (KOA), Kahului Airport (OGG) and Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL)," write the Forbes Adviser study's authors. 

Traveling To Hawaii? Get Ready for a Great Airport Experience

The only non-Hawaiian airport to make the top five is the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport — seeing more than 31.2 million travelers in 2022, the airport is one of the country's busiest but still had only 14.82% of its summer flights delayed during that year's summer months.

While the small size of the Hawaiian airports makes it easier to navigate the inflow of arrivals, Minneapolis-St. Paul indicates how high traveler numbers can be handled even in very busy airports.

Reporting particularly busy traveler numbers during popular holiday periods, the Transportation Service Authority regularly puts out notices encouraging travelers to arrive early and "use the time in the checkout line wisely" by removing items from pockets and having one's documents pulled out before one's turn comes.

"With so many Americans traveling by plane this summer, vacationers might want to brace for turbulence," the Forbes authors conclude. "Historically, some airports have been more susceptible to travel disruptions, such as flight delays and cancellations during peak travel season, providing a worse experience for vacationers."

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