New study: Air travel became more unreliable in 2025
New study: Air travel became more unreliable in 2025
- Tue, Jun 16 2026 at 10:52 AM
Mark M,
It's universally accepted that air travel can be stressful. We've learned to anticipate cancellations and delays, mishandled baggage and long waits on the tarmac.
Our report analyzed airline data and found that air travel in 2025 was even less reliable than in the previous year. Let's take a closer look at what they found:
When it comes to flight cancellations and delays, some airlines are more reliable than others.
Overall, flight cancellations and delays increased in 2025, leading to the worst on-time performance since 2014. More than 100,000 flights were cancelled by the largest U.S. airlines, and nearly one-fourth of all flights did not arrive on time.1
Of these, one in 12 flights from the 10 largest airlines arrived an hour late or more.2 Allegiant Air, Hawaiian Airlines and Southwest had some of the lowest percentages of flight cancellations and late arrivals. Frontier, American, and JetBlue were ranked among the worst for both cancellations and delays.
Additionally, domestic tarmac delays soared by 63% from 2024 to 2025. This means there was a huge increase in the number of flights that sat on the tarmac for at least three hours, either before departure or after landing. Many tarmac delays may be attributed to weather conditions, heavy air traffic or limited air traffic controller capacity.3
2025 saw more delays and cancellations -- and fewer passengers.
In 2025, the volume of passengers traveling by air dropped by 1%. However slight this might seem, there have only been three other instances when the number of passengers declined: after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, during the 2008-2009 financial crisis and during 2020's COVID-19 pandemic.4
While there's no single obvious cause for last year's decline, it's reasonable to think that people's concerns over the economy and the decline of international tourists at American airports may have played a role.5
Unfortunately, air travel is unlikely to become more reliable -- or more enjoyable -- for the rest of 2026.
Already, American, Delta, Southwest and United 6 airlines are raising prices, cutting flights or both in light of rising fuel prices and government mandates to reduce congestion at certain airports.7 Fewer flights and the collapse of Spirit means flights could be more crowded.
Similarly, the federal government is pausing or rolling back some consumer protections, including requiring airlines to disclose the cost of checking a bag up front and to compensate passengers for food and accommodations after a cancellation or long delay.8
As we head into the busy summer travel months, we hope this resource will remind you that you have rights -- and that you should use them.
Sincerely,
The team at WISPIRG Foundation
1. Teresa Murray & Lilian Tracy, "The Plane Truth 2026," U.S. PIRG, May 2026.
2. Teresa Murray & Lilian Tracy, "The Plane Truth 2026," U.S. PIRG, May 2026.
3. Teresa Murray & Lilian Tracy, "The Plane Truth 2026," U.S. PIRG, May 2026.
4. Teresa Murray & Lilian Tracy, "The Plane Truth 2026," U.S. PIRG, May 2026.
5. Scripps News Group, "Airfair prices decline ahead of summer travel season," Scripps News, April 28, 2025.
6. Pete Syme, "These airlines have cut the most flights this summer as jet fuel prices skyrocket," Business Insider, May 6, 2026.
7. Howard Hardee, "'Big Four' US airlines cut flights and raise fares as fuel shocks squeeze profits," Flight Global, April 23, 2026.
8. Teresa Murray & Lilian Tracy, "The Plane Truth 2026," U.S. PIRG, May 2026.Your donation will power our dedicated staff of organizers, policy experts and attorneys who drive all of our campaigns in the public interest, from banning toxic pesticides and moving us beyond plastic, to saving our antibiotics and being your consumer watchdog, to protecting our environment and our democracy. None of our work would be possible without the support of people just like you.
WISPIRG Foundation, 333 W. Brown Deer Rd. Unit G #443, Milwaukee, WI 53217, (608) 251-9501
Member questions or requests call 1-800-838-6554.
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