CA Airport Ranks No. 1 For Reliability: See How Others Across State Fared

LOS ANGELES, CA — California travelers have something to celebrate ahead of the holiday travel season: One of the state's busiest airports has been named the most reliable major airport in the country, while nine others have earned places among the nation's best performers.

Los Angeles International Airport claimed the top spot in a new Consumer Affairs study examining flight delays, cancellations, diversions and the availability of alternative flights when travel plans go awry.

But LAX wasn't California's only standout. San Jose, Oakland and Sacramento swept the top three positions among medium-sized airports, while Long Beach ranked third nationally among smaller airports.

Altogether, 10 California airports finished in the top 10 of their respective size categories, giving the Golden State an impressive showing as millions of Americans prepare for Thanksgiving and winter holiday travel.

Why LAX Came Out On Top

Researchers analyzed U.S. Department of Transportation flight records from 2024 and 2025, ranking 122 airports nationwide according to the frequency and severity of disruptions and travelers' ability to recover when something goes wrong.

LAX emerged as the most reliable of the country's 29 large airports, recording a cancellation rate of just 0.78%. Another 16.89% of scheduled departures experienced moderate delays of between 15 minutes and three hours, while 1.14% suffered delays of at least three hours.

However, the airport's greatest advantage wasn't simply keeping flights on schedule.

Researchers found that LAX offered an average of 5.68 other scheduled flights to the same destination on any given day, giving disrupted passengers more potential alternatives than at any other major airport studied.

Only 15.81% of cancellations involved the last scheduled flight of the day to a particular destination, also the lowest proportion among large airports.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport ranked second nationally, followed by Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Salt Lake City International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

San Francisco International Airport placed sixth among large airports, while San Diego International Airport finished 16th.

How California's Other Airports Ranked

California's strongest collective performance came in the medium-airport category, where all six airports included in the study finished among the nation's eight most reliable.

Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport took first place among 32 medium-sized airports, followed by Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport in second and Sacramento International Airport in third.

Ontario International Airport ranked sixth, Hollywood Burbank Airport seventh and John Wayne Airport in Orange County eighth.

Smaller California airports also performed well. Long Beach Airport ranked third among 61 small airports nationwide, followed by Fresno Yosemite International Airport in 10th place.

Palm Springs International Airport narrowly missed the top 10, finishing 11th, while Santa Barbara Municipal Airport ranked 18th.

The findings mean that 10 of the 13 California airports examined finished among the 10 best in their respective categories, although the researchers emphasized that airports were compared only with others of similar size.

At the opposite end of the rankings, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was named the least reliable large airport, recording a 2.8% cancellation rate — the highest of any airport studied.

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport ranked second-worst among major airports, followed by Newark Liberty International Airport, Miami International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport.

Holiday Travel Brings A Different Challenge

Despite California's strong showing, the study also highlighted how dramatically airport reliability can deteriorate during peak holiday travel periods.

Across the Thanksgiving and winter holiday periods examined, Thanksgiving Day itself recorded an average flight disruption rate of 8%, compared with 11% on Christmas Day.

But the Sunday after Thanksgiving proved particularly troublesome in 2025, when 49% of flights experienced disruptions — the highest rate recorded during the holiday periods studied.

Overall, 106 of the 122 airports examined experienced higher disruption rates during the holidays than during their respective nonholiday comparison periods.

At LAX, the holiday disruption rate reached 23.6%, with 1.6 percent of flights experiencing severe delays, according to the study's separate holiday data.

Travel experts cited by ConsumerAffairs recommended booking nonstop flights where possible, choosing earlier departures and favoring airlines offering multiple daily flights to the same destination.

The rankings measure operational reliability and potential recovery options rather than passenger satisfaction, airport amenities or security wait times. They also reflect historical flight performance, not a forecast of conditions this holiday season.

For California travelers, however, the findings suggest that some of the state's busiest airports offer a better chance of keeping travel plans on track — and more options when they don't.

The complete national rankings, airport-by-airport statistics and research methodology are available in the Consumer Affairs report.