According to an analysis of U.S. airport data from the past five years, Boston Logan Airport is the fourth worst departure airport on Labor Day weekend.
According to an analysis by private jet charter company Jettly, Logan Airport ranks among the 50 largest airports in the United States, behind only Luis Munoz Marin Airport in Puerto Rico, Newark Liberty Airport and Dallas Love Field Airport.
Logan’s poor ranking is likely due to the high percentage of delays among departing flights. The analysis, based on federal flight data between 2019 and 2023, found that 17% of flights were delayed over Labor Day weekend, making it the American airport with the fifth-highest percentage of delays.
In a statement, Massport highlighted that Logan Airport is among the 20 busiest airports in the country, handling over 40 million passengers annually on more than 40 major airlines. The port authority also said it does its best to inform passengers of anticipated weather-related delays and cancellations and offers a wide range of benefits and activities at Logan for those who may be affected by a delay or cancellation.
“Flights are delayed for a variety of reasons, including weather, mechanical problems with an aircraft or other equipment, crew scheduling, etc. So there is no simple explanation for why one airport experiences more delays than others,” the statement said.
One factor that may have contributed to Logan’s poor rating is its status as a hub for JetBlue Airways, the airline that scored lowest in Jettly’s analysis for Labor Day weekend travel.
Over the past five years, 21% of the airline’s flights were delayed over Labor Day weekend – the highest percentage of any airport included in the analysis – and nearly 3% of those flights were canceled. In fact, four of JetBlue’s six hubs were among the analysis’ 10 worst airports for Labor Day travel, ranking first, fourth, sixth and eighth.
JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this article Monday afternoon.
In terms of the percentage of departing flights canceled over Labor Day weekend in recent years, Logan Airport fared much better, coming in 23rd with nearly 1.3% of flights canceled.
Other New England airports were not included in Jettly’s analysis, but the results suggest travelers should avoid flights on not only JetBlue but also Allegiant Air and Southwest Airlines over Labor Day weekend. Of the major airlines, Delta Air Lines fared best for Labor Day weekend travel, with 9% of flights delayed and just under 1% of flights canceled in recent years.
Overall, according to Jettly’s analysis, over the past five years, 15 percent of flights were delayed on Labor Day weekend and about 1.5 percent of those flights were canceled.
