The Popular Southern Airport That's Been Ranked As One Of The Worst In The US

Making it onto a list can sometimes be a good thing, but not when you're an airport that's been called the worst to fly out of. For the Dallas Forth Worth International Airport (DFW), that's the reality. This massive airport, the second largest in the country, is notoriously busy all the time, so it's no wonder travelers are less keen to wander this behemoth. And when you're also the third busiest airport in the world, things are bound to go wrong, especially on the worst travel days of the year. 

Yet, DFW is no stranger to lists like this. In 2022, Upgraded Points conducted a survey of readers to identify their biggest complaints about airlines and airports. As a result, 14% of respondents indicated that DFW was the airport they had the most complaints about flying in or out of. If customer reviews on Skytrax are any indication, DFW has a lot of struggles, with many reviewers pointing to the overwhelming size and age of the airport as the biggest issue. 

One DFW local/reviewer wrote: "The terminal layouts are too spread out with often no possible way of walking between them... The parking garages are of an ancient design with no elevators or escalators except in Terminal D... Other than Terminal D, the entire airport is very dated, inefficient and not up to the standards set by airports in more sophisticated parts of the world." And that's just the beginning of this airport's perceived problems.

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport has a problem with planes being on time. That's bad news for the 60% of travelers who utilize the major hub for a connection over a direct departure or arrival. Per a 2024 study done by AirHelp (via Fox7Austin), DFW is the worst airport to fly out of because more than 45% of the airport's flights are disrupted.

In looking at Bureau of Transportation Services data from January 2023 to February 2024, it was discovered just how bad those delay numbers really are. Although DFW ranked third in most respective delays in the report, its total delays blew all the rest out of the water. During those 18 months, there were a whopping 66,105 flight delays averaging just shy of a 90-minute time difference. 

To be fair, there are instances when hundreds of flights are delayed or canceled at DFW due to weather or other phenomenon. For instance, when over 900 delays due to storms at the end of May 2024 threw the airport into disarray. Still, it makes you wonder how the busiest airport in the world doesn't manage to make it on this list, but the third-busiest does. 

The biggest question of all has to be why Dallas Fort Worth International Airport has so many delays. While there isn't a definitive answer, a clear indicator may be connected to why flights are also feeling bumpier lately. Increases in bad weather have led to more delays or cancellations, not just at DFW but other airports all over. 

For instance, May 2024 had the third most days of thunder in the DFW area, according to the National Weather Service. There were 16 days of storms that month, with two other records made in May in the last 10 years. May 2024 was also the month when DFW was named the worst airport to fly out of. Plus, according to the NWS data, the Dallas area has an average of 46 thunderstorm days per year. That amounts to just under one thunderstorm day each week, with the highest numbers occurring from March to August. 

In a statement to Fox 4 News, DFW Airport's team explained that the Federal Aviation Administration has regulations that require staff to be inside when lightning occurs. That's likely why so many flights were interrupted in May, given the high frequency of inclement weather.