Bay Area airport has most holiday weather delays in US, study finds

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The San Francisco Bay Area will be soaked this week by an atmospheric river storm powered by a bomb cyclone forming over the Pacific Ocean. Rain or shine, travelers are preparing to catch flights for upcoming Thanksgiving vacations.

A new study by Upgradedpoints.com analyzed data of weather-related flight delays at the 60 busiest airports in America. Researchers used data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and Google Flights.

“When it comes to flying, few things are as frustrating as unexpected delays — especially when the weather’s to blame,” the study states.

During peak holiday travel months — November through January — within the past five years, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) had the highest percentage of weather-delayed flights in the U.S., the study found. Data shows SFO had a 42.3 percent average.

Foggy San Francisco had even more weather delays than airports hit by snowstorms in the winter, including Chicago O’Hare International Airport (30.8%) and Boston Logan International Airport (31.3%).

“When it comes to holiday travel from November through January, not all airports are created equal,” the study states. “San Francisco (SFO) claims the top spot for holiday weather delays, with a whopping 42.3% of its delays caused by weather during the holiday months. December is particularly challenging, with 50.5% of SFO’s delays attributed to weather disruptions.”

The brunt of this week’s storm has not arrived yet. On Wednesday morning, an SFO spokesperson said 15 percent of the airport’s flights were experiencing delays due to weather, and the delays averaged about 30 minutes. Forty-seven flights were cancelled.  

Across the bay, Oakland International Airport (OAK) had a better record for boarding passengers on time during the holidays, the study found, with a 13.23 percent average for weather delays.

OAK Airport officials project that 340,000 passengers will pass through their airport during the Thanksgiving holiday travel period, from Friday, November 22 through Sunday, December 1.

5 most weather-delayed airports during the holidays:

1. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) — 42.3%
2. Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) — 42.1%
3. LaGuardia Airport (LGA) — 38.3%
4. Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) — 38.1%
5. Logan International Airport (BOS) — 31.3%

5 least weather-delayed airports during the holidays:

1. Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) – 11.0%
2. William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) – 12.3%
3. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) – 12.4%
4. Dallas Love Field (DAL) – 12.7%
5. San Diego International Airport (SAN) and Miami International Airport (MIA) – tied at 13.1%

OAK encourages passengers to arrive early: at least two hours prior to departure for domestic travel and three hours for international.

“We wish our community a very happy Thanksgiving and look forward to welcoming travelers who will Fly the East Bay Way for the holiday,” said Port of Oakland Director of Aviation Craig Simon. “We expect that our terminals will be busy, so passengers are encouraged to arrive at the airport early, reserve parking, and check in via their airline’s mobile app ahead of time.”

​SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The San Francisco Bay Area will be soaked this week by an atmospheric river storm powered by a bomb cyclone forming over the Pacific Ocean. Rain or shine, travelers are preparing to catch flights for upcoming Thanksgiving vacations. A new study by Upgradedpoints.com analyzed data of weather-related flight delays at the 60 busiest […]