As the summer comes to a close, (hopefully) so does the widespread chaos in airports all over the world. CNN has released statistics of the world’s worst airports for flight delays and cancellations.
Summer 2022 has officially come to a close, and CNN took a look at some of the worst airports across the globe for cancellation and delay rates.
September heading into October is known as the “sweet spot for airlines” as weather delays and cancellations are minimised before the winter season.
With high hopes for the coming months, let’s take a look at the statistics for some of the world’s worst airports for flight delays and cancellations.
The worst airports for flight delays and cancellations – airports across the globe
Looking at airports across the world more broadly, Canada stands out far above the rest of the world for experiencing the worst airport delays across the country.
Around half of Canada’s airport delays happened at the country’s two biggest airports, Montreal-Trudeau and Toronto Pearson.
Air Canada introduced a policy allowing airport and itinerary changes this summer in an attempt to address the “longer than usual delays” at Toronto Pearson.
Then, some of the biggest travel hubs in Europe, London, Paris, and Frankfurt, among others, also suffered due to massive delays from May to September.
The worst cancellations came from China as they still have ongoing restrictions due to COVID. However, airports in America were included in this category, too.
Flight delays across the world – Canada stands out
Taking a look at statistics for airports around the world, the airport that has the highest percentage of flight delays is Toronto Pearson International Airport, at a whopping 51.0%.
After Toronto, Montreal-Trudeau International Airport comes in at second place with 47.8% flight delays, followed closely behind by Frankfurt International Airport.
The top ten is then rounded out by Humberto Delgado Airport, London Gatwick, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Munich International, Manchester Airport, Athens International, and finally, Vancouver International Airport.
Flight cancellations – travel restrictions in China
Ongoing travel restrictions in China meant that a large number of delays and cancellations happened there.
China still has strict COVID restrictions, which has meant the country is largely closed to international travel. In turn, seven out of ten of the worst airports for cancellations are Chinese airports.
Shanghai Pudong International Airport comes in at number one with a cancellation rate of 29.8%. Xi’an Xianyang International Airport comes in next with a cancellation rate of 15.6%. Followed by Beijing Capital Airport at 14.7%.
The only other airports not in China on the list are the Indonesian airport Soekarno-Hatta International Airport with 8.3%, Newark Liberty International with 6.7% and LaGuardia Airport with 6.7%.
For more information on the world’s worst airports for flight delays and cancellations, click here.
