Holiday travel
July 4 at EWR
Newark Liberty International Airport, Newark, NJ. July 2023 – July 2026. Set against EWR’s own ordinary days of the same weekday in the weeks around each holiday.
The window, year by year
The window runs July 1 through July 5, around July 4, whatever weekday it falls on. In the data: Jul 1–5, 2023; Jul 1–5, 2024; Jul 1–5, 2025; Jul 1–5, 2026. July 4 fell on a Tuesday in 2023, Thursday in 2024, Friday in 2025, and Saturday in 2026. Four windows are in the data: enough to see whether a day repeats, not enough to call it a rule.
Compared with ordinary days, July 4 flights were better in one, about the same in two, and worse in one of the four years. The gap ran from 6.6 points below usual in 2023 to 6.4 points above usual in 2026.
5.67% of scheduled departures were cancelled across the July 4 windows, against 5.68% on ordinary days of the same weekdays. It was lower in one of the four years and higher in two.
| Year | Departures | On time | Usual | Gap, points | Cancelled | Usual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023Jul 1–5, 2023 | 1,808 | 62.2% | 68.8% | −6.6worse | 8.46% | 6.29% |
| 2024Jul 1–5, 2024 | 1,789 | 70.0% | 68.1% | +1.9about the same | 1.79% | 5.26% |
| 2025Jul 1–5, 2025 | 1,622 | 67.8% | 68.1% | −0.3about the same | 7.21% | 5.49% |
| 2026Jul 1–5, 2026 | 1,567 | 73.2% | 66.8% | +6.4better | 5.30% | 5.63% |
| All years4 windows | 6,786 | 68.2% | 68.0% | +0.2about the same | 5.67% | 5.68% |
Day by day
July 1 (Sat, Mon, Tue, Wed) was the worst day of the window in two of the four years. Over the years it ran 63.2% on time, 6.2 points below what ordinary days of the same weekdays had.
July 2 (Sun, Tue, Wed, Thu) was the best day of the window in two of the four years. Over the years it ran 68.7% on time, about level with what ordinary days of the same weekdays had.
July 4 itself carried 11% fewer departures than an ordinary day of the same weekday and ran 71.5% on time.
- Better than usual
- Worse than usual
- About the same
- What ordinary days of the same weekday had
- Lowest to highest single year
- Lighter bars: days just outside the window
Bars show the on-time arrival rate and start at 30%, not zero.
| Day | Departures against an ordinary day | On time | Usual | Gap, points | Cancelled | Each year: 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 28Fri, Sat, Sun · outside the window | 2% more | 71.8% | 65.9% | +5.9better | 3.12% | — · 73.2 · 59.6 · 80.7 |
| Jun 29Sat, Sun, Mon · outside the window | about the same | 74.5% | 68.0% | +6.5better | 0.80% | — · 63.9 · 71.3 · 88.0 |
| Jun 30Sun, Mon, Tue · outside the window | about the same | 64.8% | 69.1% | −4.3worse | 13.18% | — · 35.1 · 60.0 · 93.3 |
| Jul 1Sat, Mon, Tue, Wed | 2% more | 63.2% | 69.4% | −6.2worse | 7.78% | 65.3 · 49.0 · 57.4 · 80.9 |
| Jul 2Sun, Tue, Wed, Thu | about the same | 68.7% | 68.6% | +0.1about the same | 6.18% | 66.0 · 62.5 · 57.5 · 88.4 |
| Jul 3Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri | about the same | 68.4% | 67.2% | +1.2about the same | 3.86% | 67.3 · 85.6 · 56.1 · 62.0 |
| July 4Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat | 11% fewer | 71.5% | 68.2% | +3.3better | 6.01% | 46.6 · 87.9 · 84.1 · 63.4 |
| Jul 5Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun | 3% more | 69.5% | 66.6% | +2.9better | 4.61% | 64.1 · 65.4 · 84.1 · 65.9 |
| Jul 6Thu, Sat, Sun, Mon · outside the window | 2% more | 65.5% | 68.0% | −2.5about the same | 3.30% | 66.0 · 72.6 · 82.9 · 37.7 |
| Jul 7Fri, Sun, Mon, Tue · outside the window | 2% more | 65.2% | 67.5% | −2.3about the same | 5.83% | 48.6 · 77.2 · 52.5 · 81.2 |
| Jul 8Sat, Mon, Tue, Wed · outside the window | 2% more | 74.3% | 69.5% | +4.8better | 4.35% | 55.3 · 87.8 · 63.5 · 88.3 |
A dash means fewer than 120 flights stood behind the figure, or behind the ordinary days it would be compared with: too few to print a rate, and nothing is estimated in its place. “Usual” is what ordinary days of the same weekday had at the same place in the weeks around the holiday, weighted by the flights being compared.
Which departure times held up
The busiest days at EWR were Sunday, Jul 2, 2023 (369 departures), Wednesday, Jul 5, 2023 (387 departures), Monday, Jul 1, 2024 (371 departures), Tuesday, Jul 2, 2024 (364 departures), Wednesday, Jul 2, 2025 (337 departures), Thursday, Jul 3, 2025 (346 departures), Thursday, Jul 2, 2026 (337 departures), and Friday, Jul 3, 2026 (334 departures).
Across the whole window, flights leaving 5–9 AM had the highest on-time rate: 85.9%, about level with usual for that time of day. Those leaving 9 PM–5 AM had the lowest: 40.2%, 9.3 points below usual for that time of day.
Against usual for their time of day, flights leaving 3–6 PM did best (+3.0 points) and those leaving 9 PM–5 AM did worst (−9.3 points).
On each year’s two busiest days, flights leaving 5–9 AM had the highest on-time rate: 82.9%, still 3.3 points below usual for that time of day. Those leaving 9 PM–5 AM had the lowest: 28.0%, 20.6 points below usual for that time of day.
The holiday cost flights leaving 9 PM–5 AM the most (20.6 points below usual for that time of day) and those leaving 9 AM–12 PM the least (0.8 points below).
| Leaving | On time, whole window | Usual | Gap, points | On time, busiest days | Usual | Gap, points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5–9 AM | 85.9% | 85.4% | +0.5about the same | 82.9% | 86.2% | −3.3worse |
| 9 AM–12 PM | 81.3% | 79.8% | +1.5about the same | 79.6% | 80.4% | −0.8about the same |
| 12–3 PM | 71.2% | 70.8% | +0.4about the same | 68.4% | 70.6% | −2.2about the same |
| 3–6 PM | 58.7% | 55.7% | +3.0about the same | 53.3% | 55.1% | −1.8about the same |
| 6–9 PM | 42.4% | 46.7% | −4.3worse | 34.1% | 46.3% | −12.2worse |
| 9 PM–5 AM | 40.2% | 49.5% | −9.3worse | 28.0% | 48.6% | −20.6worse |
Cancellations
The worst day for cancellations in each year was Sunday, Jul 2, 2023 (20.05% of that day’s departures, 48% of the window’s cancellations), Monday, Jul 1, 2024 (5.93% of that day’s departures, 69% of the window’s cancellations), Tuesday, Jul 1, 2025 (21.49% of that day’s departures, 62% of the window’s cancellations), and Sunday, Jul 5, 2026 (15.66% of that day’s departures, 63% of the window’s cancellations).
EWR beside every covered airport
Storms and outages move whole regions at once. This puts EWR’s year beside the year of all covered airports together, each against its own usual, to show whether EWR did better or worse than the network.
| Year | EWR on time | EWR, gap from usual | All airports on time | All airports, gap from usual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023Jul 1–5, 2023 | 62.2% | −6.6 | 73.9% | +2.9 |
| 2024Jul 1–5, 2024 | 70.0% | +1.9 | 82.2% | +11.7 |
| 2025Jul 1–5, 2025 | 67.8% | −0.3 | 73.5% | +2.3 |
| 2026Jul 1–5, 2026 | 73.2% | +6.4 | 73.1% | +3.2 |
For every holiday at once, see the five holidays at EWR, or the network view.