Ronald Reagan famously described the U.S. as the “shining city on the hill,” but the Washington, D.C., airport named for the former president often disappoints travelers.
The research group Consumer Affairs recently ranked Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) the worst airport in the country for flight cancellations, with 2.8 percent of scheduled departures cancelled, according to 2024 and 2025 flight data from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
The airport also had a relatively high rate of flight delays and cancellations that occurred when no same-day alternative flights were available. While it doesn’t help travelers, the report noted that most delays at DCA resulted from problems elsewhere.
Other airports that ranked poorly for flight reliability included Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Miami International Airport (MIA) and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL).
Even among these low-performing airports, however, the root cause of reliability problems—and consequences—varied. While cancellations were the biggest problem at DCA, for example, Newark’s bugaboo was long delays, which affected 2.7 percent of all flights. At Miami, on the other hand, diversions were the major issue.
Of the 10 worst major hubs for flight disruptions, seven are in the South, the report noted. However, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was ranked fifth-best for avoiding travel disruptions by Consumer Affairs, trailing only Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Salt Lake City International Airport.
LAX’s strong performance helps explain why some of the nation’s largest airports ranked among the highest for reliability.
“Where LAX stands out is recovery,” the report explained. “Cancellations are relatively rare, but when one does happen, there are around 5.68 other flights heading to the same destination on a given day. An airport moving this many flights has more seats to shuffle passengers into when something goes wrong.”
By contrast, DCA has only an average of 3.18 same-day flights going to the same destination, meaning a higher likelihood of being stranded in the airport overnight if your flight is cancelled.
PHL, EWR, Washington Dulles International Airport, and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York were among the other airports where more than 30 percent of cancelled flights were the day’s last to that destination.
