It may
be too late to do anything other than arrive as early as possible, but try to
avoid going through Chicago (O'Hare), Atlanta, or San Francisco's airports when
it comes to fast-approaching Thanksgiving travel.
What's
the reason? During last year's holiday season, all three airports suffered from
870 or more interrupted flights. And this year's outlook is no better,
according to the findings of Air Help.
The Worst
Thanksgiving Travel Airports 2019
There
are no surprises in the top 10. Here’s how many disrupted flights they
experienced last year:
·
Chicago
O’Hare International Airport (ORD): 1,130 flights
·
Atlanta
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL): 960 flights
·
San
Francisco International Airport (SFO): 870 flights
·
Los
Angeles International Airport (LAX): 650 flights
·
Newark
Liberty International Airport (EWR): 610 flights
·
Dallas
Fort Worth International Airport (DFW): 600 flights
·
Boston
Logan International Airport (BOS): 550 flights
·
Denver
International Airport (DEN): 530 flights
·
Charlotte
Douglas International Airport (CLT): 490 flights
·
John
F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK): 480 flights
These
10 airports are among the “usual suspects” in any compilation of delay and
cancellation data. The reasons are a combination of weather and local airport
conditions, and there are no reasons to expect that any will make any changes
substantial enough to overcome inherent problems.
Air Help
also took a look at the 10 individual routes that were most disrupted last
year. If you’re unlucky enough to be on any of these flights, plan ahead:
·
Los
Angeles International Airport (LAX) to San Francisco International Airport
(SFO)
·
Seattle-Tacoma
International Airport (SEA) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
·
New
York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
·
San
Diego International Airport (SAN) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
·
Las
Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) to San Francisco International
Airport (SFO)
·
Orlando
International Airport (MCO) to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport
(ATL)
·
San
Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Boston Logan International Airport
(BOS)
·
San
Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Newark Liberty International Airport
(EWR)
·
Orlando
International Airport (MCO) to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
·
New
York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to London Heathrow Airport
(LHR)
As you
might expect, with a four-day holiday weekend, the most popular routes are
generally shorter than at other holiday times. What jumps out of this
tabulation is that San Francisco SFO is involved in six of the most disrupted
10 routes. This comes as no surprise to West Coast travelers, who are all too
aware of the special problems SFO faces when fog shuts down one of its two main
landing runways.
What
useful guidance can travelers who haven’t yet bought their Thanksgiving tickets
glean from these unhappy numbers?
If you
have to make a hub connection, connect at some other airport. Los Angeles,
Phoenix, or Salt Lake City instead of San Francisco, for example, or
Minneapolis or Detroit rather than O’Hare. The best way to deal with an
unreliable hub is to turn it into “flyover country.”
·
If
your trip starts or ends at one of these areas, try to use a different airport
in the region. Oakland and San Jose both offer realistic alternatives to San
Francisco for many travelers, as do Chicago/Midway or Milwaukee for O’Hare.
Unfortunately, you don’t have a similar choice in the New York City area: All
three major airports are almost always among the most disrupted.
·
As
a final point, if you haven’t already arranged your Thanksgiving flights, all
the relevant data suggest you should do so soon. If possible, AirHelp suggests
you avoid flying the Sunday after Thanksgiving: November 25 will be the busiest
day of the weekend. And, if you can work it, mornings between 6:00 and 11:59
are the best hours to fly.
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