Expand / Collapse search
☰

Report ranks the top 10 most and least reliable airports in the US

By Joe Calabrese
FOX Local
Consumer
Published October 29, 2026 8:11 PM EDT
Published October 29, 2026 8:11 PM EDT
article

A traveler at the Metro station near Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. This holiday season likely will bring some of the busiest travel days in US history, spurring the federal government to

Expand

The Brief

    • A new report ranked airports nationwide on reliability, based on their rate of cancellations, delays and diversions.
    • The majority of the top 10 most reliable airports are in the western U.S. Los Angeles International Airport ranked as the most reliable.
    • The majority of the top 10 least reliable airports are in the south, but the report noted that Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport was fifth most-reliable. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, meanwhile, ranked as the country's least reliable airport.

As the U.S. approaches the busiest travel season of the year, a new report has ranked airports across the country in terms of their reliability.

Big picture view:

The report, from Consumer Affairs, ranked airports across the country on their reliability, based on their rate of cancellations, delays and diversions. It used data from the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation to build its rankings. 

Data revealed that Los Angeles International Airport leads the nation in flight recovery options, averaging 5.7 alternative same-day flights to the same destination and the lowest share of last-flight-of-the-day cancellations. At the other end of the spectrum, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport ranked the least reliable, leading the nation in cancellations (2.8%). The data also showed Reagan cancels its last flight of the day more than any other large airport in the country. But the report found that nearly half of the delays are caused by flights showing up late, more than any of the five worst major airports it ranked.

The report found seven of the 10 worst major hubs for flight disruptions are located in the South, but Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, the nation's busiest, ranked fifth best. 

The top 10 most reliable airports

The most reliable airports all share some major characteristics, mainly very low rates of cancellation and severe delays, meaning three or more hours. A vast majority of them were also in the Western U.S.

Here are the top 10 most reliable airports, according to Consumer Affairs:

  1. Los Angeles International (LAX)
  2. Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX)
  3. Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA)
  4. Salt Lake City International (SLC)
  5. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL)
  6. San Francisco International (SFO)
  7. Harry Reid International (LAS)
  8. Boston Logan International (BOS)
  9. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW)
  10. Nashville International (BNA)

Top 10 least reliable airports

On the other hand, a big chunk of the worst airports on the list are located in the Northeast: 

  1. Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA)
  2. Dalls Fort Worth International (DFW)
  3. Newark Liberty International (EWR)
  4. Miami International (MIA)
  5. Philadelphia International (PHL)
  6. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (FLL)
  7. LaGuardia (LGA)
  8. Tampa International (TPA)
  9. Washington Dulles International (IAD)
  10. George Bush Intercontinental (IAH)

Dig deeper:

The Consumer Affairs report also looked at medium-sized and small airports. Out of them, President Donald J. Trump International in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Asheville Regional in North Carolina ranked at the bottom.

The full data can be found below:

Click here to read Consumer Affairs' full report. 

The Source: Information in this story is from ConsumerAffairs.com, which used data on airport diversions, cancellations and delays from the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

ConsumerTravel