Delays. Cancellations. Maintenance issues. Fliers who take to the skies have likely encountered one or more of these problems after getting aboard a plane in recent years.
But are delays at Massachusetts airports more common than travelers know?
Four Massachusetts airports were listed among the top 100 airports in the United States with the most delays, according to a recent article from Stacker. Three airports in the commonwealth made it to the bottom 20 with Nantucket Memorial at 93, Boston Logan International at 89 and Martha’s Vineyard at 84. Worcester Regional Airport made it to the top 20 at 13.
Bradley International in Hartford, frequently used by Western Massachusetts residents, ranked 26.
Stacker collected data recorded by the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics from August 2021 to July 2022, going through 241 U.S. airports with more than 1,000 flights a year with the most delays. Stacker ranked these airports based on on-time performance based on flights that were not canceled, diverted or delayed for 15 or more minutes.
In contrast to Boston Logan, Worcester Regional holds a smaller number of passengers flying per day. Spectrum 1 News reported in April that the average number of passengers per day skyrocketed to 230 in March 2022. Nine years after it was purchased by the Massachusetts Port Authority, the airport just celebrated its one-millionth passenger on Nov. 1.
“Massport does not control the actual movement of aircraft, so when talking about delays the cause is between the airline and the [ Federal Aviation Administration],” said Massport media relations director Jennifer Mehigan. “There are many reasons for delays, but most commonly weather and/or volume.”
Weather made up 0.58% of delays, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, behind air carrier delays at 11.8%.
Worcester Regional, also known as ORH, only offers flights through three commercial airlines with five daily flights out of Worcester. Despite its size, the airport has plans to continue growing and make it more maneuverable for passengers, Mehigan said.
“Next year, Massport will begin work to resurface the other half of the primary runway and construct a new taxiway,” Mehigan said. “These investments allow ORH to accommodate more flights and serve more passengers in the future.”
Here are the respective charts breaking down how frequently flights were on time, canceled, diverted or delayed for various reasons, provided by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
13. Worcester Regional Airport
26. Hartford Bradley International
84. Martha’s Vineyard Airport
89. Boston Logan International Airport
93. Nantucket Memorial Airport
Visit the Bureau of Transportation website and see how other airport delays are broken down by percentage.
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