A study conducted by the travel research firm Upgraded Points revealed that JFK airport in Queens had the highest rate of tarmac delays, with roughly 3,000 out of every 100,000 flights experiencing delays of over an hour. Newark and LaGuardia airports followed closely behind with 2,337 and 2,334 delays per 100,000 flights, respectively. Philadelphia International Airport and Washington Dulles rounded out the top five airports with the most tarmac delays.
The increase in tarmac delays is attributed to airlines and airports being short-staffed after the decreased demand for air travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite a decrease in delays during the pandemic, delays have been on the rise again as travel demand has bounced back. Researchers used data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics to rank the airports based on delays lasting longer than an hour.
In 2022, JFK had 331,000 scheduled passenger flights, while Newark had 249,000 and LaGuardia had 171,000. Overall, tarmac delays doubled from 2020 to 2021 and increased by nearly half in 2022. The total number of delays on runways nationwide in 2023 was about 65,000. Jetblue was named as the airline with the most tarmac delays, followed by United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta, Frontier, and Spirit Airlines. Southwest and Hawaiian consistently experienced the fewest tarmac delays among airlines.
The report highlights the impact of airlines and airports staffing back up to meet the recovering demand for air travel. While some carriers and airports have been quicker to address the increase in delays, others have continued to experience delays. The Port Authority, which oversees the airports, did not provide immediate comment on the study findings. Tarmac delays have become an increasingly frustrating issue for passengers, with JFK airport being the most affected by delays lasting over an hour.
