Traveling can be frustrating—especially with flight delays and cancellations adding stress to an already challenging journey. To shed light on this issue, a new analysis has been conducted across some of the busiest airports in the U.S.
Rightway Parking, a company specializing in airport and cruise parking reservations out of Tampa, Florida, examined 55 airports using federal flight statistics and estimates from Google Maps. They considered various factors, such as flight delays, cancellations, the frequency of changes to delays, as well as the distance and travel time from central locations.
The outcome of this analysis found Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) taking the dubious title of the “most stressful” airport in the nation. Almost 28% of flights at DFW were delayed, with a cancellation rate of 2.76%, as highlighted by 2025 flight data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Moreover, the report noted a significant 33.67% rise in delays at DFW since 2021. The location of the airport—about 20 miles from downtown Dallas—also contributed to its stressful ranking.
This report follows a particularly tough day for travelers at DFW, as on October 1, the airport reported 390 delays and 155 cancellations, the highest numbers for any U.S. airport that day, according to NJ.com.
Coming in second place was Chicago O’Hare International Airport, with around 24.68% of flights delayed, and a notable 42.77% increase in delays since 2021. The estimated drive time from downtown Chicago to O’Hare is around 50 minutes, which also plays a role in its stress ranking.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, right across the Potomac from Washington, D.C., rounded out the top three. This airport displayed a cancellation rate of 3.86% and experienced a 73.92% increase in delays since 2021.
New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport took the fourth and fifth spots, respectively, in terms of stress levels.
On a more positive note, some airports fared much better in this analysis. Salt Lake City International Airport in Utah was marked as the “least stressful,” followed by San Jose International Airport in California and Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, Hawaii. All three of these airports reported cancellation rates below 1% and shorter travel times from downtown compared to those higher on the stress ranking.
Fox News Digital attempted to reach out to both Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Rightway Parking for comments and additional details.
