Best, Worst Airports for Holiday Flight Delays, Cancellations

With a record number of people expected to travel this holiday season, there's no doubt that flying could get awfully stressful with flight delays and cancellations piling up in some places. MagnifyMoney recently analyzed the last 10 years of U.S. Department of Transportation flight data for America's 50 busiest airports for travel December 20-31 to determine the best and worst to fly out of around the holidays.

Flying out of Honolulu at Christmastime is about as stress-free as it gets with an impressive 84.2 percent of flights reaching their destination on time and only 0.5 percent being canceled.

Maui's Kahului International Airport is the only other airport among the 50 busiest in the U.S. to boast an on-time rate above 80 percent between December 20-31 over the past decade, checking in at a solid 83.7 percent.

Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers is the best airport in the mainland U.S. for holiday travel as departing flights arrive on time more than 77 percent of the time.

Like Hawaii, flying out of the Sunshine State can be a breeze compared to some other places around the holidays. Tampa International Airport is tied for the fourth-best on-time percentage from December 20-31 dating back to 2008.

Matching Tampa with an on-time percentage of 76.5 percent, San Antonio International Airport is the best in Texas this time of year, based on MagnifyMoney's research.

If you're flying out of the Big Apple this holiday season, let it be out of LaGuardia Airport. These flights arrive on time more than 76 percent of the time. That can be attributed to federal limits on the number and distance of flights, as well as fewer regional feeder flights flown with smaller planes that are more likely to be delayed.

Trailing LaGuardia is Texas' Austin-Bergstrom International Airport with an on-time rate of 75.9 percent. Just beware of December 22 as that's typically the worst day to fly out of Austin during the holidays.

With many travelers flocking to Orlando to experience the destination's world-class theme parks during the holidays, catching a flight on time out of central Florida isn't all that challenging with 75.7 percent of departing flights arriving on time despite the busy period.

North Carolina's Charlotte Douglas International Airport fares the best among the major connecting hubs with more than 75 percent of departing flights reaching their destination on time and a mere 1.2 percent of holiday flights being canceled.

Holiday travelers will want to avoid flying out of Miami on December 26 if they can. Nonetheless, flights departing the busy South Florida airport arrive on time slightly more than three-quarters of the time and just 1.2 percent are canceled.

Of the 50 busiest airports in the U.S., Chicago Midway International Airport is the worst for on-time holiday travel, boasting an on-time rate of just 61.5 percent over the past decade.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, nearby O'Hare International Airport doesn't fare much better, with only 61.6 percent of its holiday flights reaching their destination on time.

When it comes to New York City's Big Three airports, Newark Liberty International Airport is the worst for on-time holiday travel as its on-time rate barely surpasses 62 percent.

Denver International Airport has some serious headache potential around the holidays, according to MagnifyMoney's research. Fortunately, stranded passengers can kill some time at the airport's ice skating rink.

With an on-time rate of just 64.8 percent during the holidays, NYC's John F. Kennedy International Airport ranks as the fifth-worst among America's busiest airports.

The worst day to travel out of Houston's William P. Hobby Airport is typically two days after Christmas (December 27), according to MagnifyMoney's research. Overall, the airport boasts an on-time rate of just 66 percent during the holiday travel period.

Flying out of the West Coast? You might want to avoid Oakland International Airport, which ranks seventh-worst with an on-time rate of just over 66 percent around this time of year.

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport possesses one of the worst cancellation rates (4.3 percent) of any airport in the bottom 10 in terms of on-time percentage.

Despite its 67.5 percent on-time rate, Salt Lake City International Airport is among the 12 best busiest airports in terms of lowest cancellation rate. Only Oakland ranks better.

You might consider Baltimore-Washington International Airport among the best of the worst as its 68 percent on-time rate is significantly better than the two Chicago airports and it ranks middle-of-the-pack (25th) for most holiday season cancellations.