More than 100,000 flights have been canceled in the U.S. so far in the first half of this year, according to statistics from flight tracker FlightAware (via Travel and Leisure).
Specifically, a total of 128,934 flights were canceled in the U.S. between January and July. This is an 11% increase compared to the same period three years ago.
Meanwhile, nearly a million flights have been delayed this year.
So which airlines tops the list for the most number of canceled and delayed flights?
In separate data from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT), according to a report by Business Insider, between January and June, the 17 leading U.S. airlines canceled more than 3% of domestic flights, up from 1.58% in the comparison to the same period last year.
Extreme weather, technical difficulties, a lack of adequate manpower, and a rise in travel demand have all contributed to this.
Meanwhile, in the first half of 2022, 75.89% of domestic flights run by U.S. airlines were considered "on time."
In comparison, 84.29% of flights made it on time during the same period in 2021.
According to the DoT data, "on time" is categorized as flights that arrived within 15 minutes of their scheduled time.
Furthermore, flights that are rerouted or canceled are nevertheless considered delayed by the DoT since they are included in the total number of scheduled flights.
Read More: American Airlines Agrees to Purchase 20 Boom Supersonic Overture Jets
Which Airlines Had the Most Canceled Flights
According to DoT data, Republic Airways canceled 10,270 flights in the first half of the year, or 6% of its planned itinerary.
The airline only canceled 1.43% of its flights between January and June 2021.
Business Insider mentioned that the DoT data only covers cancellations that occurred within a week of the flight's scheduled departure date; cancellations that occurred earlier than that are not included.
Meanwhile, JetBlue Airways, which canceled 5.39% of its operations in the first half of 2022, comes in second place. Mesa Airlines, on the other hand, comes next with a cancellation rate of 4.48%.
On the other hand, the airline with least canceled flights is Hawaiian Airlines, with 0.97%.
Which Airlines Had the Most Delayed Flights
According to DoT, flights from Allegiant Air were the most likely to experience delays, with 38.37% of them arriving at least 15 minutes late, being canceled, or being diverted. Per Business Insider, only 59% of the airline's domestic flights arrived on time in June.
Following Allegiant Air in terms of scheduled flight arrivals on time in the first half of 2022 were JetBlue Airways (62.08%) and Frontier Airlines (64.50%).
Hawaiian Airlines has the least number of delayed flights with 17.86%.
Which Airports Had the Most Delayed Flights
According to Business Insider, Chicago's Midway International Airport came in last for timely departures among the 30 largest airports in the U.S. This was followed by Baltimore/Washington International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport.
Related Article: Starlink for Inflight Wi-Fi? Delta Airlines is Testing the Possibility
