Holiday travel
Labor Day 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 the Saturday through the Monday, around Labor Day (the first Monday of September). In the data: Sep 2–4, 2023; Aug 31 – Sep 2, 2024; Aug 30 – Sep 1, 2025. Three windows are in the data: enough to see whether a day repeats, not enough to call it a rule.
Compared with ordinary days, Labor Day flights were better in two and worse in one of the three years. The gap ran from 5.8 points below usual in 2024 to 11.7 points above usual in 2023.
0.75% of scheduled departures were cancelled across the Labor Day windows, against 3.47% on ordinary days of the same weekdays. It was lower in all three years.
| Year | Departures | On time | Usual | Gap, points | Cancelled | Usual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023Sep 2–4, 2023 | 1,064 | 92.0% | 80.3% | +11.7better | 0.00% | 3.47% |
| 2024Aug 31 – Sep 2, 2024 | 1,018 | 74.5% | 80.3% | −5.8worse | 2.16% | 3.47% |
| 2025Aug 30 – Sep 1, 2025 | 980 | 85.6% | 80.3% | +5.3better | 0.10% | 3.47% |
| All years3 windows | 3,062 | 84.2% | 80.3% | +3.9better | 0.75% | 3.47% |
Day by day
Labor Day was the worst day of the window in all three years. Over the years it ran 75.4% on time, 4.7 points below an ordinary Monday.
The Sunday before Labor Day was the best day of the window in two of the three years. Over the years it ran 90.7% on time, 10.2 points above an ordinary Sunday.
- 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 50%, not zero.
| Day | Departures against an ordinary day | On time | Usual | Gap, points | Cancelled | Each year: 2023, 2024, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday beforeoutside the window | about the same | 72.9% | 74.6% | −1.7about the same | 1.01% | 85.1 · 68.1 · 64.4 |
| Friday beforeoutside the window | about the same | 83.6% | 79.0% | +4.6better | 0.64% | 87.3 · 79.3 · 84.1 |
| Saturday before | about the same | 87.4% | 80.3% | +7.1better | 0.31% | 93.9 · 79.2 · 88.8 |
| Sunday before | 8% fewer | 90.7% | 80.5% | +10.2better | 0.00% | 92.6 · 88.8 · 90.4 |
| Labor Day | about the same | 75.4% | 80.1% | −4.7worse | 1.82% | 89.8 · 56.5 · 78.4 |
| Tuesday afteroutside the window | about the same | 86.3% | 84.0% | +2.3better | 0.09% | 88.4 · 84.8 · 85.5 |
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, Sep 3, 2023 (353 departures), Monday, Sep 4, 2023 (381 departures), Sunday, Sep 1, 2024 (331 departures), Monday, Sep 2, 2024 (367 departures), Saturday, Aug 30, 2025 (317 departures), and Monday, Sep 1, 2025 (348 departures).
Across the whole window, flights leaving 5–9 AM had the highest on-time rate: 93.1%, 3.7 points above usual for that time of day. Those leaving 3–6 PM had the lowest: 73.3%, about level with usual for that time of day.
The holiday helped flights leaving 9 PM–5 AM the most (6.6 points above usual for that time of day) and those leaving 3–6 PM the least (0.1 points above).
On each year’s two busiest days, flights leaving 5–9 AM had the highest on-time rate: 94.9%, 5.7 points above usual for that time of day. Those leaving 3–6 PM had the lowest: 68.9%, 3.5 points below usual for that time of day.
Against usual for their time of day, flights leaving 5–9 AM did best (+5.7 points) and those leaving 3–6 PM did worst (−3.5 points).
| Leaving | On time, whole window | Usual | Gap, points | On time, busiest days | Usual | Gap, points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5–9 AM | 93.1% | 89.4% | +3.7better | 94.9% | 89.2% | +5.7better |
| 9 AM–12 PM | 91.5% | 87.1% | +4.4better | 91.2% | 87.6% | +3.6better |
| 12–3 PM | 87.6% | 81.0% | +6.6better | 87.3% | 81.7% | +5.6better |
| 3–6 PM | 73.3% | 73.2% | +0.1about the same | 68.9% | 72.4% | −3.5about the same |
| 6–9 PM | 74.8% | 70.2% | +4.6better | 69.8% | 70.0% | −0.2about the same |
| 9 PM–5 AM | 79.2% | 72.6% | +6.6better | 75.0% | 72.7% | +2.3about the same |
Cancellations
The worst day for cancellations in each year was Monday, Sep 2, 2024 (5.45% of that day’s departures, 91% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023Sep 2–4, 2023 | 92.0% | +11.7 | 87.4% | +7.6 |
| 2024Aug 31 – Sep 2, 2024 | 74.5% | −5.8 | 82.1% | +2.4 |
| 2025Aug 30 – Sep 1, 2025 | 85.6% | +5.3 | 82.2% | +2.5 |
For every holiday at once, see the five holidays at EWR, or the network view.