US Airports Where Your Flight Is Most Likely to Be Canceled

Orlando International Airport (MCO) rounds out the list of the 10 worst U.S. airports for flight cancellations, canceling flights at a rate of 3.7 percent in 2022. MCO is one of four airports that function as operating bases for Southwest Airlines in the top 10 and the low-cost carrier notoriously experienced issues during the busy holiday travel period last winter. 

Surprisingly, it's not Chicago's O'Hare International Airport but Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) further south that turned in one of the country's worst flight cancellation rates last year at 3.73 percent. That figure is up from 2.98 percent the previous year.

Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), another Southwest operating base, remains steady in eighth as its flight cancellation rate kept climbing from 2.97 percent in 2021 to 3.74 last year.

Florida's Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) was among the airports that saw a significant jump in its flight cancellation rate last year, with the airport scrapping flights 3.79 percent of the time. That's a notable jump from PBI's rate of 1.53 percent just a year earlier.

Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL) experienced only a slight increase in its flight cancellation rate in 2022—3.82 percent versus 3.34 percent in 2021—but it was enough to overtake nearby Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), which saw an improvement in its flight cancellation rate in 2022.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport's (DCA) flight cancellation rate more than doubled in 2022, climbing to 3.93 percent to rank fifth-worst in the U.S. By comparison, Virginia's Dulles International Airport (IAD) a half-hour-drive west ranked just 44th with a rate of 2.49 percent.

Although Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) experienced the nation's fourth-highest flight cancellation rate last year at 4.82 percent, the airport somehow isn't the worst of New York City's Big Three airports. What's more, it's only up one spot from last year's rankings.

LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in New York City saw the largest increase in canceled flights, from 1,471 in 2021 to 8,795 in 2022. The figure marks an alarming 497.89 percent increase. The airport is one of only three with a flight cancellation rate above 5 percent. 

Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers saw a massive jump in flight cancellation rate last year, with its mark rising from 1.8 percent to 5.47 percent in 2022. Travelers will remember that the airport and surrounding region were impacted heavily by Hurricane Ian last fall.

Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) in Western New York posted the highest cancellation rate in the country for 2022 at a gut-wrenching 5.55 percent. That number is up considerably from 2021—286.77 percent—when BUF was forced to cancel only 1.43 percent of flights.