Despite hiccups, airlines are performing pretty well this summer
- - Despite hiccups, airlines are performing pretty well this summer
Zach Wichter, USA TODAY July 25, 2025 at 8:10 PM
When your own flight is delayed or canceled, it can feel like the entire aviation network is in a conspiracy against you. As summer travel peaks and crowded airports coincide with unsettled weather, many travelers feel like the system is in a constant state of melting down.
Although it's cold comfort in this hot weather, so far this summer, airlines are actually performing pretty well.
According to FlightAware, there have been more than 1.8 million flights scheduled in the U.S. since the Friday before Memorial Day – May 23 this year – and of those, just 30,390, or 1.6%, have been outright canceled.
Meanwhile, around a quarter of the flights that did operate have been delayed, at an average of about 60 minutes.
Summer storms cause travel headaches every year, but these numbers are not unusual.
In the same period last year, airlines canceled about 1.9% of flights, and 26% of flights were delayed, slightly more than this year. Delays still averaged about 60 minutes last summer.
The numbers were similar in 2023, and slightly higher in 2022, when the aviation industry was still more directly recovering from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
What you're entitled to if your flight is delayed or canceled
If you're one of those unlucky few whose flight is canceled or delayed this summer, it's helpful to know your rights.
When airlines cancel your flight for any reason, including weather, you're entitled to a full refund, even if you purchased a nonrefundable ticket, if you choose not to travel on an alternative itinerary offered by the carrier.
A flyer checks the electronic departure boards at Denver International Airport during the summer 2024 travel season.
If your flight is delayed, the regulations are alittle more complicated, because the cause of the delay plays a big part in determining what you're entitled to. Generally, airlines don't have to compensate you if the delay is out of their control, caused by weather or air traffic control issues, but they are on the hook for more if the delay is caused by mechanical, staffing or other issues that are more directly in the company's charge.
The Department of Transportation has a dashboard outlining its regulations and each airline's policies.
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Flight delays, cancellations down so far this summer
Source: “AOL Money”
