Nothing is worse than being stuck in an airport during bad weather and not knowing when you'll be able to catch the next available flight.
One of the biggest crises in recent memory was the Southwest Holiday Meltdown of 2022 when, in the days immediately after Christmas, a combination of storms and a breakdown of Southwest Airlines (LUV) -)'s booking system led to the cancelation of more than 16,000 flights. Over two million people were left stranded in airports across the country during the holidays while the breakdown cost the airline more than $1 billion in losses.
Related: Southwest Airlines Explanation For Holiday Disruptions Is Underwhelming
Looking at flight delay and cancelation data at 366 airports across the country between 2018 and 2022, MarketWatch Guides named North Carolina's Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) as the major airport with the highest number of weather-related delays over the long-term — 3,910 or 10.5% of all flights delayed in 2022 did not do so because of storms, high winds and other inclement weather.
On these lists, this airport keeps coming up again and again
O'Hare International Airport (ORD) in Chicago and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) rounded out the second and third place by staying above the 10% mark for the percentage of flights delayed due to weather.
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When it comes to cancelations, DFW was again at the top of the list with 5,844 cancelations in 2022 as 73.8% of all of the airport's canceled flights were called off due to the weather. CLT moved down to second place — the two airports switched places when it comes to delays and cancelations but are still, at least according to this report, the two worst in the country when it comes to weather-related problems.
Washington, D.C.'s Ronald Reagan International Airport (DCA) took third place with 63.6% of all flights canceled in 2022 due to weather. The airports in Newark, Orlando and Chicago also landed in the top five for weather-related cancelations while D.C.'s Dulles International Airport (IAD), Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) and Orlando International Airport (MCO) were in the top three when it comes to delays.
Worried about the weather? Don't just think about the winter storms
While the winter months are commonly associated with weather-related flight delays, MarketWatch's report found that high rates of problems also take place during summer storms. At a 4.9% delay rate, August was the month with the most delays at airports across the U.S.
January topped the list for cancelations but, due to the frequency of summer storms in states like Florida, August still scored high on the list. While December also scored high when it comes to weather-related cancelations, the holidays mean that few will "wait it out" and put off traveling for another period.
"We found that February was the worst month for weather-related cancelations in 2022, with 79.2% of cancellations being due to weather," write the MarketWatch report's authors. "September followed close behind with 77.2% of cancellations related to weather. But for weather-related delays, August featured the highest number of delays with 4.9% of delays due to weather, and December in second place at 4.5%"
