Top 10 best airports for Thanksgiving travel in the United States
Thanksgiving is coming soon and all of us long to meet our families and friends! If you are flying this holiday season, going back home without getting stuck at the airport is what you must be hoping for. At Instalocate, we analyzed the on-time performance of the top 100 airports in the USA during Thanksgiving of 2018 (Nov 16 to Nov 28, 2018 time period). Below is a list of the airports which could handle the holiday rush and show a good on-time performance. If you haven’t planned your travel yet, this list will come handy.
- Honolulu International Airport (HNL):
Aloha!! Honolulu International Airport in the state of Hawaii topped the list with an on-time performance of 92.3%. The airport staff is well prepared to handle the traffic. They make sure that the passengers spend their holiday not being stuck at the airports. If you are still looking for destinations to travel Hawaii can be an option. During this period (Nov 16- Nov 28) of high traffic, the airport showed the best performance on Nov 18 with 95.5% flights on-time. The worst day of this airport was Nov 25 when only 85.2% of flights were on time.
2. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL):
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world. More than 100 million passengers flew through this airport in 2018. Although Atlanta airport is one of the busiest airports in the world, it managed the holiday traffic pretty well, showing an on-time performance of 88.1% during the Thanksgiving holidays in 2018. Based on the statistics from last year, the best day to travel from this airport during the holiday season is Nov 23. The worst on-time performance was shown on November 25, the Sunday right after the holidays.
3. George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH):
George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston serves almost 40 million passengers annually. This airport was almost at par with the Atlanta airport with an on-time performance of 87.3%. The best day to travel from this airport last year was Nov 22, 2018, whereas the worst day was the Monday after Thanksgiving i.e. Nov 26, 2018
4. Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT):
Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, was the fourth best in terms of on-time performance. Just 0.1% behind the George Bush Intercontinental Airport it showed an on-time performance of 87.2%. The best day to travel from this airport was Nov 22, the day of thanksgiving itself. Just like most airports in the USA during the Thanksgiving holidays the worst day to fly from this airport was Nov 26, 2018.
5. William P. Hobby Airport (HOU):
Willian P. Hobby is the oldest airport in Houston. Showing an on-time performance of 87.1%, this airport is highly recommended if you are flying in and out of Houston. If you are planning a holiday, you might want to choose Houston as a destination as both the airports in this city namely William P. Hobby Airport HOU and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) have shown amazing on-time performance. They have been impeccable in handling the holiday traffic. The best day to travel from this airport in this period was Nov 23. The worst day to travel from this airport in this period was Nov 18.
6. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP):
Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport in Minnesota was also at par with the Houston airports in terms of on-time performance. It showed an on-time performance of 87.1%. Just like most airports in this period, the best day to travel was a day after Thanksgiving Nov 23. The worst day was the Sunday before Thanksgiving.
7. Philadelphia International Airport (PHL):
Philadelphia International Airport is the primary airport serving Philadelphia. The airport serves 31.7 million passengers annually. It managed to be in top list with an on-time performance of 87.0%. The best day to travel from this airport was Nov 23. The worst day was the Sunday before Thanksgiving i.e Nov 16.
8. Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC):
This airport serves as one of the largest hubs of Delta Airlines. The airport operates three interconnected terminals which are easily accessible. With an on-time performance of 86.5%, this airport is highly recommended for Thanksgiving travel. The best day to travel from this airport was Nov 23. The worst day was the Sunday after Thanksgiving which is Nov 24.
9. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW):
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is one of the biggest airports in the country. The airport is so big that it even has its postal code and post office. This airport has an on-time performance of 86.2%. This airport is the largest hub for American Airlines and we recommend choosing this airline if you are flying in and out of this airport. The best day to travel from this airport was the day after Thanksgiving. The worst day to travel was the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
10. Baltimore/Wash International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI):
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, serving the Baltimore–Washington D.C. metropolitan area on the east coast, has an on-time performance of 85.3%. This airport was on the tenth position of the top ten airports in the USA during the Thanksgiving season. Unlike most airports in the USA, the best day to travel from this airport was Nov 19. The worst day was the Sunday before Thanksgiving.
Every year hundreds of people waste time stuck at the airport due to the holiday traffic. If you are flying this holiday season, please also check the list of airports to avoid here.
Also, if you want to spend your holiday time with your family and not being stuck at the airport predict your flight delays with Instalocate using www.instalocate.com/prediction.
Using Instalocate, you can now predict the chances of flight delays and cancellations even before the airlines announce it. You can take relevant actions such as reschedule your flight, inform your cab to come late or add one more meeting in your busy schedule! Read more.
