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The worst airport for Thanksgiving travelers

MARKETWATCH 9:28 AM ET 11/25/2015

More than 40% of the flights at the nation's busiest airport suffer delays during Thanksgiving week

Travelers, prepare for delays this Thanksgiving, particularly if you're heading to or from a certain Midwestern city via air.

This year, 3.61 million people will get on a plane during the Thanksgiving holiday -- that's up by more than 2 million from 2009, according to AAA's holiday travel forecast (http://newsroom.aaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2015- Thanksgiving-Holiday-Forecast-Report-update.pdf).

For some, the experience will be more disagreeable than for others. Flyers leaving from or arriving at Chicago'sO'Hare International Airport, the busiest (www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-ohare-busiest-airport-0122-biz- 20150121-story.html) U.S. airport, may be in for plenty of delays, as more than 40% of the flights during Thanksgiving week over the past three years at that airport have been delayed, according to an analysis of more than 100 flight routes to and from major U.S. airports during Thanksgiving week by AirHelp (http://www.getairhelp.com).

Nine of the 11 worst routes in the past three years included O'Hare, which is largely thanks to the weather that frequently befalls the Windy City, says AirHelp co-founder Nicolas Michaelsen.

About 70% of all flight delays and cancellations are due to weather (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-you-should- never-fly-on-a-monday-2015-11-12), which also helps explain why San Francisco and Seattle (fog and rain) and New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., (snow and ice) land on the list of the worst airports for Thanksgiving delays. And while Dallas, Houston and Miami have relatively pleasant weather, they also get a lot of connecting flights, which can be impacted by bad weather elsewhere.

Of course, there are things travelers can do to avoid delays and cancellations (and if you've already booked your ticket, consider this advice for next year). First, don't fly on the Wednesday before or the Sunday after Thanksgiving, says Michaelsen. "It's best to fly on Thanksgiving and come back on that Saturday or Monday," he says.

You should also try to get the first flight of the day as these are least likely to be delayed, says Jim Hetzel, vice president of aviation and distribution for flight data company FlightStats. (http://www.flightstats.com)

And look for airlines that tend to have fewer delays. The government tracks delays by airline (https:// www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/2015OctoberATCR.pdf).

RELATED: How to avoid a Thanksgiving nightmare (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-to-avoid-a-nightmare-at- thanksgiving-2015-11-23)

RELATED: Thanksgiving turkey prices hit record highs (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/thanksgiving-turkey-prices-hit- record-highs-but-you-should-still-be-thankful-2015-11-21)

RELATED: 6 topics to avoid at the Thanksgiving table (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/6-topics-not-to-broach-during- thanksgiving-dinner-2015-11-23)

(https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/2015OctoberATCR.pdf)

-Catey Hill; 415-439-6400; [e-mail]

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