Weather was the culprit in roughly one in five delayed flights at major U.S. airports during the holiday months over the past five years, with San Francisco and New York’s LaGuardia faring worst, according to a new analysis from Upgraded Points.
The study, which drew on Bureau of Transportation Statistics data covering the 60 busiest U.S. airports and nine major carriers from November 2021 through January 2026, found weather accounted for 21.9% of delays on average across the November-to-January window. At San Francisco International, that figure climbed to 40.3%, the highest of any airport analyzed.
LaGuardia was close behind at 38.9%, followed by Seattle–Tacoma at 32.8%, with Newark Liberty and Anchorage’s Ted Stevens International completing the top five.
Clients routing through Los Angeles have the best odds, with weather responsible for just 10.2% of LAX delays. Honolulu, Kahului, and Miami also landed near the bottom of the ranking.
Among airlines, Alaska Airlines carried the highest weather-related share at 27.8%, with United next at 25.4%. Hawaiian Airlines came in lowest at 7.9%, and Southwest followed at 17.2%. By month, December edged out January, 23.6% to 22.6%.
Upgraded Points stressed that the figures describe past patterns rather than a prediction for the coming season, and pointed travelers to their airline’s flight status tools and the FAA’s National Airspace System Status dashboard for real-time updates. For advisors building holiday itineraries, the practical takeaway is where to pad connection times: a tight layover at SFO or LGA in December carries considerably more risk than the same connection through LAX or Miami.
Related Stories
Survey: The Top Thanksgiving Travel Destinations of 2026
Tripadvisor: Cancun, New York Top U.S. Winter Travel Searches
Source link
