Flight delays soar to a decade-high: The 10 worst offenders 

Flight delays have risen to their highest point in a decade — with more than a fifth of U.S. planes landing late in the past 12 months, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Exclusive data from the flight tracking platform FlightAware shows that no less than 21.4 percent of flights in the past year were delayed by an average of 50 minutes.

Flight delays have gotten worse over the past decade, despite skyrocketing ticket prices and record airline profits. The last time delays approached last year’s peak was in 2014, when 18 percent of flights arrived late.

JetBlue Airways was revealed as the worst offender, with customers delayed on 31.6 percent of its journeys, with an average wait time of 57 minutes.

FlightAware spokeswoman and former airline pilot Kathleen Bangs told Dailymail.com that a post-pandemic pilot shortage and fewer available flights amid skyrocketing demand are contributing to the frustrating delays plaguing travelers.

Bad weather and a series of major technical problems also forced travelers to wait on the tarmac last year — with more than 1,700 Southwest Airlines flights delayed after yet another computer outage yesterday.

Worst airlines for delays last year

Of the 9,204,351 scheduled departures in the past 12 months, 1,931,322 have been delayed.

Delays haven’t been this high since 2011, and that’s as far back as FlightAware records stretch.

In 2019, before the pandemic, 16.4 percent of flights were delayed – and the same figure was recorded in 2021.

JetBlue Airways was the top offender between April 2022 and April 2023, with customers experiencing delays on 31.6 percent of its trips, according to FlightAware data.

Southwest Airlines experienced delays on a quarter of its flights, while Spirit Airlines saw 24.9 percent of its arrivals turn up late.

At American Airlines and United Airlines, respectively, 23.2 percent and 21.2 percent of their flights were not on time.

Envoy Air, Delta, Republic Airways and SkyWest accounted for the remaining four places in the top ten worst offenders, with 18.4 percent, 18 percent, 17.7 percent and 17 percent of trips held up.

Despite this, many U.S. airlines are posting record profits, with airfares rising 17.7 percent year-on-year, according to the latest consumer price index from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

American Airlines said it posted a record $803 million in profit in the last quarter of 2022, while Delta posted higher revenue last year than 2019 — with even Southwest reporting a $539 million profit for 2022.

What’s causing the chaos?

In addition to technical slumps and inclement weather, FlightAware spokesperson Kathleen Bangs told Dailymail.com: “We are back at near pre-pandemic passenger numbers and on some days we are equal to or above 2019 numbers coming through TSA security. .

‘But we do it with fewer flights. That’s partly because the regional airlines are short on pilots, leaving many smaller jets parked due to lack of crew. With that in mind, the majors have ramped up the use of larger jets to hold greater capacity. So we have fewer flights in total, but with more passengers.’

She added that airlines had to catch up on flight training as many senior pilots took early retirement due to the pandemic.

“Once you retire your seniority number with an airline, you can’t return to your place in line — so pilots who have taken early retirement can’t come back,” she said.

“Airlines are back at 2019 staffing levels – and in some cases even higher – but that doesn’t mean the loss of more experienced staff hasn’t taken an operational toll.”

Cancellations are also on the rise

The number of canceled flights also rose last year, according to airline performance data released by the Department of Transportation.

In total, 2.71 percent of flights were canceled last year – the highest rate in almost a decade, excluding 2020.

Apart from 2020, when many flights were canceled due to the pandemic, the overall cancellation rate has been below 2 percent every year since 2015.

JetBlue was also the worst airline for cancellations last year — with 3.4 percent of flights canceled.

Allegiant Air had canceled 3.52 percent of trips, while 3.26 percent of Southwest flights were cancelled.

A catalog of errors

More than 1,700 Southwest Airlines flights were grounded Tuesday morning after a system-wide computer outage.

The nationwide shutdown began around 9:45 a.m. At 11:10 a.m., the Federal Aviation Administration lifted the pause, revealing in a statement that Southwest had “experienced a technical issue” with one of its systems.

The troubles come just weeks after the Texas-based carrier unveiled an “action plan” to prevent such meltdowns after it was plagued by another system glitch in late December.

The airline had to cancel more than 16,700 flights during the holiday season, mainly in the week between Christmas and New Year.

Flight problems were the highest category of complaints received by the Department of Transport in December 2022. Of the 16,876 complaints received, 8,857 (52.5 percent) related to airline cancellations, delays or other deviations from airline schedules.

Thousands of US airline fliers were also plagued with outages following a spectacular Federal Aviation Administration computer error in January.

Records showed that there were more than 10,000 delays and more than 1,000 cancellations after the Notice to Air Missions system crashed due to a corrupt file in the database.

Major airports, including JFK, LAX, Miami and Atlanta all experienced problems two days after the computer outage.

Extreme weather conditions also caused thousands of flights to be canceled and delayed late last year as treacherous winter conditions hit the country.

More than 12,500 flights were disrupted in December as New York, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Georgia and North Carolina declared a state of emergency due to sub-zero temperatures and whiteout conditions.

Staff shortages are a particular problem in New York, where the air traffic control center is only 54 percent staffed, well below the national average of 81 percent.

As a result, the FAA asked airlines to cut their flight schedules in the New York area by 10 percent during peak summer travel from May 15 to September 15.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz has called for answers to the shortages, citing fears they could reduce customer choice and raise prices for travelers.

In a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Senator Cruz wrote, “Airfare prices will almost certainly rise and competition will decrease at some of our country’s busiest airports.”

A JetBlue spokesperson said, “The Northeast, where JetBlue primarily operates, is by far the most congested airspace in the US, with more air traffic control delays and weather delays than any other region. In 2022, 76 percent of our operations were in congested airspace, compared to 42 percent for our closest competitor and other competitors, ranging from 7 percent to 32 percent.

“Our acquisition of Spirit Airlines will diversify our network beyond the congested Northeast, giving us greater operational resiliency and greater relevance to customers.”

In March, the Justice Department filed an antitrust suit to block JetBlue’s $3.8 billion acquisition of budget competitor Spirit Airlines, alleging it would raise airfare prices and harm consumers.

Delta said 81 percent of arrivals in the first three months of 2022 were on time.

All other airlines have been contacted for comment.