It’s that time of year again when we tell you about this!
Thanksgiving weekend is coming up fast and that means it’s almost time for many of us to stand in those long holiday airport lines and get on those holiday planes. It being the busiest time of year to travel makes this a nuisance and usually all-around bad, but I’m here to let you know that it doesn’t have to be if you are prepared with the hard facts.
AirHelp, the world’s leading passenger rights company, ranked a bunch of findings from 2018 to show what should be expected this year. The top five airports with the most overall disruptions in flights last year were the following:
1. Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD): 1,130 flights
2. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL): 960 flights
3. San Francisco International Airport (SFO): 870 flights
4. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX): 650 flights
5. Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR): 610 flights
And the top five most disrupted routes were these guys:
1. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
2. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
3. New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
4. San Diego International Airport (SAN) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
5. Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
And, hey, just so you know, these are the most popular routes:
1. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
2. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
3. New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
4. Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
5. Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Alert: You Could Be Compensated for Delayed Flights
Bad weather, overbooking, delays–all of these things add up to travel issues over the Thanksgiving holiday. Under some circumstances, you can be compensated for your travel woes. AirHelp’s study found that only 81% of American travelers know their rights–and that only 55% have gone through the actual process of filing for said compensation. If you experience (or have experienced in the past–you can check flights from the past three years) a flight delay or another sort of airport woe, you can check to see if you are entitled to compensation by entering the flight information on their site.
Recommended Fodor’s Video
Travel Warning and Special Reminder: LAX is Bad!
A common trend in the aforementioned “most disrupted” lists is that Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is included in every single one! That said, I’ll go ahead and take this time to remind you that for as busy as it has been every single other year, this year is set to be especially bad at everyone’s (and especially our) least favorite airport–no matter what they said to refute this. As of right now, they claim to be doing everything they can to ease the rigmarole before the holiday rush, but to be clear, here is what that means: They expanded the pickup lot, and then went on TV and said this would completely fix the problem.
Sure. Sure it will! Sure.