Holiday travel
Memorial Day at JFK
John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, NY. July 2023 – July 2026. Set against JFK’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 Memorial Day (the last Monday of May). In the data: May 25–27, 2024; May 24–26, 2025; May 23–25, 2026. Three windows are in the data: enough to see whether a day repeats, not enough to call it a rule.
Compared with ordinary days, Memorial Day flights were about the same in two and worse in one of the three years. The gap ran from 12.0 points below usual in 2024 to 1.1 points above usual in 2026.
1.33% of scheduled departures were cancelled across the Memorial Day windows, against 1.23% on ordinary days of the same weekdays. It was lower in two of the three years and higher in one.
| Year | Departures | On time | Usual | Gap, points | Cancelled | Usual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024May 25–27, 2024 | 1,024 | 64.7% | 76.7% | −12.0worse | 3.42% | 1.23% |
| 2025May 24–26, 2025 | 878 | 77.7% | 76.8% | +0.9about the same | 0.00% | 1.23% |
| 2026May 23–25, 2026 | 872 | 77.9% | 76.8% | +1.1about the same | 0.23% | 1.23% |
| All years3 windows | 2,774 | 73.1% | 76.8% | −3.7worse | 1.33% | 1.23% |
Day by day
The Sunday before Memorial Day was the worst day of the window in two of the three years. Over the years it ran 70.4% on time, 2.3 points below an ordinary Sunday.
The Saturday before Memorial Day was the best day of the window in two of the three years. Over the years it ran 79.5% on time, 1.4 points above an ordinary Saturday.
- 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 20%, not zero.
| Day | Departures against an ordinary day | On time | Usual | Gap, points | Cancelled | Each year: 2024, 2025, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday beforeoutside the window | about the same | 59.0% | 74.3% | −15.3worse | 3.08% | 31.2 · 81.8 · 66.7 |
| Friday beforeoutside the window | about the same | 77.1% | 74.8% | +2.3about the same | 0.32% | 64.9 · 81.5 · 86.6 |
| Saturday before | about the same | 79.5% | 78.1% | +1.4about the same | 0.00% | 75.2 · 81.6 · 82.5 |
| Sunday before | about the same | 70.4% | 72.7% | −2.3about the same | 0.21% | 72.7 · 69.3 · 68.9 |
| Memorial Day | about the same | 69.5% | 79.7% | −10.2worse | 3.70% | 44.7 · 82.4 · 82.5 |
| Tuesday afteroutside the window | 3% more | 83.2% | 82.1% | +1.1about the same | 0.33% | 76.0 · 89.2 · 85.7 |
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 JFK were Sunday, May 26, 2024 (345 departures), Monday, May 27, 2024 (347 departures), Sunday, May 25, 2025 (296 departures), Monday, May 26, 2025 (299 departures), Sunday, May 24, 2026 (297 departures), and Monday, May 25, 2026 (299 departures).
Across the whole window, flights leaving 5–9 AM had the highest on-time rate: 86.7%, still 1.0 point below usual for that time of day. Those leaving 6–9 PM had the lowest: 59.3%, 7.0 points below usual for that time of day.
The holiday cost flights leaving 9 PM–5 AM the most (9.0 points below usual for that time of day) and those leaving 5–9 AM the least (1.0 point below).
On each year’s two busiest days, flights leaving 5–9 AM had the highest on-time rate: 85.7%, still 1.9 points below usual for that time of day. Those leaving 9 PM–5 AM had the lowest: 52.1%, 16.7 points below usual for that time of day.
The holiday cost flights leaving 9 PM–5 AM the most (16.7 points below usual for that time of day) and those leaving 9 AM–12 PM the least (1.8 points below).
| Leaving | On time, whole window | Usual | Gap, points | On time, busiest days | Usual | Gap, points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5–9 AM | 86.7% | 87.7% | −1.0about the same | 85.7% | 87.6% | −1.9about the same |
| 9 AM–12 PM | 80.3% | 82.7% | −2.4about the same | 81.3% | 83.1% | −1.8about the same |
| 12–3 PM | 71.8% | 76.5% | −4.7about the same | 65.7% | 75.8% | −10.1worse |
| 3–6 PM | 67.8% | 70.1% | −2.3about the same | 61.2% | 68.5% | −7.3worse |
| 6–9 PM | 59.3% | 66.3% | −7.0worse | 56.9% | 64.7% | −7.8worse |
| 9 PM–5 AM | 60.3% | 69.3% | −9.0worse | 52.1% | 68.8% | −16.7worse |
Cancellations
The worst day for cancellations in each year was Monday, May 27, 2024 (9.80% of that day’s departures, 97% of the window’s cancellations).
JFK beside every covered airport
Storms and outages move whole regions at once. This puts JFK’s year beside the year of all covered airports together, each against its own usual, to show whether JFK did better or worse than the network.
| Year | JFK on time | JFK, gap from usual | All airports on time | All airports, gap from usual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024May 25–27, 2024 | 64.7% | −12.0 | 72.7% | −2.3 |
| 2025May 24–26, 2025 | 77.7% | +0.9 | 76.4% | +1.4 |
| 2026May 23–25, 2026 | 77.9% | +1.1 | 75.0% | 0.0 |
For every holiday at once, see the five holidays at JFK, or the network view.