Where Salt Lake City International ranked among best airports for holiday travel

SALT LAKE CITY — In a little over a week, many people will be sitting down at tables filled with turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy. But ahead of that many of them will be stuck at airports waiting to travel home for the holiday.

But which airports are most likely to get you home on time? A new ranking by travel guide ‘Locals Insider’ has ranked the nation’s airports based on how they deal with the bustling holiday season.

And Salt Lake City International ranked 3rd best in terms of on-time travel.

According to the study, TSA checkpoints in 2023 had 17.1 million people go through them for the Thanksgiving holiday. And an additional 51 million passed through during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

The study found that of Salt Lake City International’s 10,053 scheduled flights during the 2023 holiday season, 86.2% of them left on time. That is a vast improvement over the airport’s 2022 numbers when only 73% of flights departed on time.

If consistency is what you are on the lookout for this holiday season, Washington Dulles International in Washington, D.C. saw the most on-time departures with 88.6% of their flights. Minneapolis- St Paul International came in 2nd in the rankings just beating out Salt Lake City International at 87.4% of flights leaving on time.

Which airports left on time most consistently?

Experts say there are steps you can take to ensure that you leave on time at the airport. They suggest booking an early morning flight as those are less likely to be delayed. Arriving at least 2 hours early for domestic flights and 3 hours early for international flights. Booking direct flights to prevent delayed and canceled flights. And packing light and shipping gifts ahead of time rather than hoping they make it with your checked luggage.

So which airports ranked poorly in the study? The researchers say that you should avoid Florida airports as 4 of the top 10 are based in Florida.

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International ranked as the worst flight for on-time departures with only 29.2% of the flights being delayed or canceled. Orlando International was right behind at 25.8% of flights being delayed or canceled.

Chicago Midway International, Southwest Florida International, and San Francisco International rounded out the top 5 for worst on-time flights.