Press · Thanksgiving 2025

Thanksgiving flight delays: how 2025's holiday week ran

Name: US flight punctuality over Thanksgiving 2025
Creator: TripStow
License: https://tripstow.com/notices

Every US domestic flight over Thanksgiving 2025, from Tuesday 25 November to Monday 1 December (the travel period AAA uses), against the rest of November. The holiday cost the average flight 9.5 extra minutes, and Sunday 30 November was the worst day to fly. Free to quote; no embargo.

73.3%

on time over Thanksgiving (80.6% rest of November)

14.3 min

average arrival delay (4.8 min usually)

2.4%

of flights cancelled

133,784

flights

The figures, ready to quote

73.3% of US domestic flights arrived on time over Thanksgiving 2025 (Tuesday 25 November to Monday 1 December), against 80.6% in the rest of November. The average flight arrived 14.3 minutes late, against 4.8 minutes.
The worst day to fly was Sunday 30 November, the busiest day of the holiday: only 53.1% of 21,576 flights arrived on time.
The best was Thanksgiving Day itself, with 92.5% on time on a quiet schedule of 11,001 flights.
Saturday 29 November was the day for cancellations: 8.4% of flights (1,693) were cancelled.
Fly early: 84.4% of flights leaving before 9am arrived on time, against 62.2% of those leaving between 5pm and 9pm.
Alaska Airlines was the most punctual airline (79.9% on time) and PSA Airlines the least (66.8%).
Of the four biggest airlines, Delta Air Lines got 77% of its flights in on time, then Southwest Airlines (75.1%), United Airlines (74%) and American Airlines (69.6%).
Of the big airports, Chicago O'Hare (ORD) had the hardest week, with 55.7% of departures on time; Salt Lake City (SLC) had the best, at 84.1%.
The least punctual busy route was Chicago to Grand Rapids: 33.9% of 79 flights on time.

Day by day

Day	Flights	On time	Cancelled
Tuesday 25 November	20,739	82.1%	0.2%
Wednesday 26 November	20,783	77.9%	0.3%
Thursday 27 November (Thanksgiving)	11,001	92.5%	0.1%
Friday 28 November	18,380	84.4%	0.3%
Saturday 29 November	20,216	66.9%	8.4%
Sunday 30 November	21,576	53.1%	3.9%
Monday 1 December	21,089	65.4%	2.3%

The best time of day to fly

Scheduled departure	Flights	On time	Cancelled
Before 9am	33,190	84.4%	1.7%
9am to noon	24,516	78.2%	1.7%
Noon to 5pm	37,862	71%	2.5%
5pm to 9pm	28,349	62.2%	3.1%
After 9pm	9,867	63.4%	3.7%

Airlines, most punctual first

Airline	Flights	On time	Cancelled
Alaska Airlines	4,622	79.9%	1.3%
Delta Air Lines	19,032	77%	0.4%
Southwest Airlines	27,532	75.1%	1.2%
United Airlines	15,295	74%	1.8%
Republic Airways	6,507	73.6%	4.1%
Spirit Airlines	2,854	72.3%	2.4%
SkyWest Airlines	15,326	72%	6%
Frontier Airlines	4,750	71.9%	1.9%
Envoy Air	5,581	69.9%	7.7%
JetBlue Airways	4,988	69.8%	3.9%
American Airlines	18,241	69.6%	1.5%
Allegiant Air	3,036	67.4%	1.1%
PSA Airlines	4,498	66.8%	3.2%

Big airports with the most delays

Airport	Departures	Left on time	Cancelled
Chicago O'Hare (ORD)	6,548	55.7%	15.1%
Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)	5,730	65.2%	1.2%
Nashville (BNA)	2,063	68%	1.2%
Washington (DCA)	2,562	68.1%	1.4%
Fort Lauderdale Hollywood (FLL)	1,900	69.5%	1.8%
Austin Bergstrom (AUS)	1,744	70.3%	0.6%
Minneapolis (MSP)	1,991	70.4%	2.3%
Baltimore (BWI)	1,886	70.6%	0.9%
Atlanta (ATL)	5,986	72.4%	0.9%
Charlotte Douglas (CLT)	3,480	72.8%	1.1%

Big airports with the fewest

Airport	Departures	Left on time	Cancelled
Salt Lake City (SLC)	2,112	84.1%	0.4%
San Francisco (SFO)	2,792	82%	0.7%
Seattle Tacoma (SEA)	2,924	81.3%	0.5%
Los Angeles (LAX)	3,681	78.9%	0.8%
Boston (BOS)	2,647	78.4%	1.6%
Newark Liberty (EWR)	2,372	78.3%	1%
Las Vegas (LAS)	3,275	77.1%	0.5%
New York (JFK)	1,995	77%	2.6%
Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX)	4,090	76.9%	0.9%
New York (LGA)	2,562	76.8%	1.4%

The least punctual busy routes

Route	Flights	On time	Cancelled
Chicago (ORD) to Grand Rapids (GRR)	79	33.9%	21.5%
Chicago (ORD) to Omaha (OMA)	57	36%	12.3%
Omaha (OMA) to Chicago (ORD)	57	37%	17.5%
Chicago (ORD) to Seattle (SEA)	93	37%	12.9%
Chicago (ORD) to Cincinnati (CVG)	88	38.2%	13.6%
Chicago (ORD) to Milwaukee (MKE)	101	38.7%	25.7%
Chicago (ORD) to Dayton (DAY)	52	39%	21.2%
Chicago (ORD) to Baltimore (BWI)	50	39.5%	14%
Chicago (ORD) to Kansas City (MCI)	78	40.3%	19.2%
Chicago (ORD) to Rochester (ROC)	50	40.9%	12%

Download and method

Every table on this page as a CSV. On time means arriving within 15 minutes of schedule, counted over flights that operated; airports are measured by departures leaving on time. Busy means at least 1,500 departures for an airport, 40 flights for a route and 2,500 for an airline over the seven days. Source: US Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (public domain). Figures describe last year and do not predict this year's flights. See how TripStow measures punctuality, and this month's figures.

How to cite

TripStow, “Thanksgiving flight delays: how 2025's holiday week ran”, https://tripstow.com/press/thanksgiving, from US Bureau of Transportation Statistics data.

Want a figure for one airport, airline or route? Email hello@tripstow.com.

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