Washington's DCA ranked worst in U.S.
A new report places the Reagan National Airport at the bottom of the reliability list while Los Angeles claims the top spot among large hubs.
By Kwame Montgomery ·
Travelers heading to Washington, D.C., face the steepest odds of a disrupted trip this holiday season. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, known as DCA, was named the least reliable major airport in the country by a new analysis released by Consumer Affairs. The ranking places the D.C. hub in direct contrast with Los Angeles International Airport, which secured the number one position for reliability.
The report evaluated airports based on rates of cancellations, delays, and diversions. The analysis utilized data from the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation to measure performance across the nation. DCA recorded a cancellation rate of 2.8%, the highest figure among the major airports reviewed in the study.
Operational patterns at DCA also distinguished it from other large hubs. The airport cancels its final flight of the day more often than any other major facility in the United States. This specific practice contributes to the overall reliability score that places the D.C. hub at the bottom of the large airport category.
However, external factors heavily influence the delays logged at the Reagan National Airport. Consumer Affairs noted that nearly half of the delays at DCA stem from arriving flights that are already late. This dependency on inbound traffic results in a higher delay rate for the D.C. airport compared to the other five major airports at the bottom of the list.
The top tier of the report is dominated by locations in the Western United States. Los Angeles International Airport led the rankings, followed by Phoenix Sky Harbor International and Seattle-Tacoma International. Other entries in the top ten include Salt Lake City, Atlanta, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Boston, Detroit, and Nashville.
The bottom ten list includes a mix of Northeastern and Southeastern airports. Alongside DCA, the list features Dallas-Fort Worth, Newark, Miami, Philadelphia, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, LaGuardia, Tampa, Washington Dulles, and George Bush Intercontinental.
The analysis extended to smaller facilities as well. Among medium-sized and small airports, President Donald J. Trump International in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Asheville Regional in North Carolina ranked at the bottom of the reliability scale.
Source: KTTV
