It is the summer of flight delays and that means added anxiety for family travelers.
Some of the most popular travel destinations also have airports with some of the worst flight delays.
The Family Vacation Guide put together research on the airports with the most delays as well as the airlines with the most delays. The data showed that Newark Liberty International in New Jersey had the most. On-time arrivals came in at 75.71 percent with delays making up 24.29 percent on average.
Newark was followed by LaGuardia, Dallas/Fort Worth, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, Palm Beach International, Boston Logan, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, Orlando International, San Antonio International, John F. Kennedy International and San Francisco.
Airlines with the most delays included Allegiant, which topped the list with an on-time average of 72.69 percent. Just over 27 percent of Allegiant flights are late or canceled.
After Allegiant it's JetBlue, Frontier, Envoy Air, United Airlines, American Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Southwest, Alaska and SkyWest.
For families traveling with children, flight delays can create panic for keeping kids busy. Depending on the airport, parents can get lucky and find an indoor kids' play area like Kidport, located at Boston Logan.
Kate Brassington, the co-Founder of The Family Vacation Guide, also has suggestions for parents needing to occupy younger travelers while they await flights.
Pen and Paper
Brassington suggests bringing basics like a pen and paper for emergency entertainment needs.
"As a parent it is important to be prepared for all potential situations, this includes waiting around for long periods of time without access to the internet or technology," she said. "If this happens, a trusty pen and paper could save the day, from drawing pictures to playing simple games such as tic-tac-toe and Pictionary."
Guess Who
Playing guessing games can keep kids distracted while parents figure out their next steps after a flight cancellation or delay.
"Many people love to do a little people-watching so why not turn it into a game-like a real-life version of Guess Who?" Brassington suggested. "Simply take it in turns to describe a person and the rest of the family guess who in the airport you are describing."
Get Crafty
Parents can also pack some easy crafts.
"All you need is some paper to make paper airplanes and have a flying competition, this is something that can be done with the whole family," noted Brassington. "If you have some colored pencils you can also personalize them."
Take a Walk and Go for a Scavenger Hunt
A scavenger hunt is an ideal way to keep kids entertained.
"The airport is a big place with plenty of space to take a walk but to make things a little more fun create a scavenger hunt of things around the airport such as an airplane, a suitcase, shorts, sun hat, etc.," said Brassington.
Hide-and-Seek
Another game is hide-and-seek.
"Now, this is not the traditional hide and seek as that's not wise in a busy place but you can play hide and seek with items," said Brassington. "Simply, select an item and hide it somewhere for the children to find or ask the children to hide it within a specific space for the adults to find."
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