Air travel disruptions at Conn.-area airports

See how flights have fared in recent months

Air travel has had its ups and downs in the last year.

Nationwide, holiday flight cancellations and delays started piling up at the end of 2021 and into this year. In the tri-state area alone, hundreds of flights were canceled this past summer.

Ahead of the upcoming busy holiday travel season, Hearst Connecticut Media Group analyzed data from FlightAware, a company that tracks air travel worldwide, to get a closer look at where and when flights from Connecticut-area airports have been most disrupted.

The analysis focused on data at five airports that offer commercial flights: Bradley International and Tweed New Haven Regional airports, both in Connecticut, and three others

nearby: LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International airports in New York City and Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey.

The data show just how unreliable air travel has been in recent months.

About one in every four scheduled domestic flights from those airports were delayed or canceled between Jan. 1, 2021 and Nov. 1, 2022.

Most of that disruption was delays, which FlightAware defines as flights that arrive 15 minutes or more late to their destination. Only about 4 percent of scheduled domestic flights from those airports were canceled during that stretch.

The delay and cancellation rates at those five airports collectively were somewhat higher than the national average. About 2 percent of all United States flights were canceled during the same period and about 18 percent were delayed.

Aviation industry experts weren’t surprised to see more disruption across the five airports.

“The [JFK, LaGuardia and Newark] airports comprise an exceptionally busy airspace, with a large number of flights, so any impacts with weather, [air traffic control] delays, etc. seem to have more of a ripple effect there than in some other areas of the country,” said Kathleen Bangs, a former commercial airline pilot and current spokesperson for FlightAware.

What’s caused flight disruptions in recent months

Many factors can cause problems for scheduled flights, such as weather hazards, technological disruptions and staffing shortages.

Flight Aware officials said they saw a huge spike nationwide in delays and cancellations in early 2022.

“[This was] due to absenteeism from Omicron in terms of airline and airport workers, and also big impact from a Nor’Easter and a major ice storm across the U.S.,” Bangs said in an email.

High rates of cancellations and delays continued through the summer and into the fall, the data show.

While staffing shortages due to workers catching COVID-19 have lessened, the industry is still grappling with an overall labor shortage.

Potential pilot strikes threaten to further upend air travel, according to The Associated Press.

And weather continues to play a factor. For example, some flights between Connecticut and Florida were canceled last week when Tropical Storm Nicole neared the U.S. coast.

The Thanksgiving travel period runs from Nov. 18 through Nov. 28, Bangs said. She said the TSA projects it will screen more than 2.5 million passengers the day before Thanksgiving and a similar number the Sunday after.

“Overall, numbers should exceed 2021 in terms of total passengers and will be very close to 2019, prepandemic,” Bangs said. “Barring a major computer system meltdown, the biggest factor for delays and cancellations will be weather.”

The best and worst days, times to fly

Between Jan. 1, 2021 and Nov, 1, 2022 at the five Connecticut-area airports, domestic flights scheduled during the morning, from 5 a.m. to noon, saw the least amount of delays and cancellations for travelers, Flight Aware’s data show. Nighttime flights saw higher rates of disruption.

“That is typical,” said Bangs. “The least cancellations occur in the morning and then build throughout the day as delays and cancellations cascade, less aircraft become available, and crews time out.”

The data also show those who opted to travel toward the end of the week experienced more delays and cancellations.

Bangs said “which days are affected the most can change depending on different factors, including what days the airlines have the most overall flights scheduled.”

How each Connecticut-area airport has fared

Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks had a total of about 42,300 scheduled flights from Jan. 1, 2021 through Nov. 1, 2022. About 17 percent of those flights were delayed and about 2 percent were canceled.

“The time period in question presented a challenging operating environment for our airline partners,” Ryan Tenny, public information officer for the Connecticut Airport Authority, which runs Bradley, said in an email. “We are fortunate that the total number of cancellations and delays has been minimal in comparison to the impacts felt across the nation.”

Tweed New Haven Regional Airport had a total of about 2,800 scheduled flights from Jan. 1, 2021 through Nov. 1, 2022. About 9 percent of those flights were delayed and less than one percent were canceled.

Those overall trends were driven by one airline which accounts for the vast majority of the airport’s flights.

For Avelo Airlines, Tweed is “a hub,” which is a term given to airports airlines use outside of their headquarters to concentrate their operations and to serve as a central transfer point. Avelo had about 2,500 scheduled flights during the same time period. About 9 percent of those flights were delayed and less than one percent were canceled.

Avelo began flying at Tweed in Nov., 2021, according to Jim Olson, a spokesperson for Avelo Airlines.

“During our first 12 months, we canceled only 70 flights (~1%) of the 5,000 [departure and arrival] flights we operated at Tweed during those first 12 months,” Olson said in an email. “The vast majority of those flights were canceled for reasons outside Avelo’s control (like weather).”

Before Avelo arrived, American Airlines operated one flight daily from Tweed to Philadelphia; American left Tweed at the end of September 2021, Tweed executive director, Sean Scanlon, said in an email.

John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City had a total of about 196,600 scheduled flights from Jan. 1, 2021 through Nov. 1, 2022. About 21 percent of those flights were delayed and almost 3 percent were canceled.

JFK is a hub for JetBlue Airways, which had about 64,900 scheduled flights during the same time period. About 30 percent of those flights were delayed and almost 3 percent were canceled.

“With 70% of our flights touching the congested weather-prone northeast corridor, JetBlue in particular feels these impacts and downline delays,” Derek Dombrowski, the general manager for corporate communications at JetBlue, said in an email. “So far this year the majority of our flight delays were due to lengthy air traffic control delay programs that result from weather and other [air traffic control] staffing issues.”

Delta also has a hub at JFK. It had just under 40,000 scheduled flights during the same time period. About 18 percent of those flights were delayed and nearly 2 percent were canceled. The airline did not respond to requests for comment.

American has a hub at JFK, too. It had about 24,000 scheduled flights during the same time period. About 18 percent of those flights were delayed and nearly 3 percent were canceled. The airline did not respond to requests for comment.

LaGuardia Airport, also in New York City, had a total of about 232,700 scheduled flights from Jan. 1, 2021 through Nov. 1, 2022. About 19 percent of those flights were delayed and nearly 4 percent were canceled.

LaGuardia is a hub for American Airlines, which accounted for about 31,500 of the scheduled flights. About 20 percent of the airline’s flights were delayed and almost 5 percent were canceled.

Delta Airlines also has a hub at LaGuardia. It had about 38,200 scheduled flights during the same time period. About 18 percent of those flights were delayed and nearly 2 percent were canceled.

Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey had a total of about 224,200 scheduled flights from Jan. 1, 2021 through Nov. 1, 2022. About 23 percent of those flights were delayed and almost 5 percent were canceled.

Newark is a hub for United Airlines, which had about 87,300 scheduled flights during the same time period. About 25 percent of those flights were delayed and almost 4 percent were canceled.

“In October, United had the best on-time departure record of any of the four biggest U.S. airlines when including flights that we chose to hold for connecting customers,” Josh Freed, a spokesperson for United, said in an email.