Holiday travel
Labor Day at MIA
Miami International Airport, Miami, FL. July 2023 – July 2026. Set against MIA’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 one and worse in two of the three years. The gap ran from 10.6 points below usual in 2024 to 17.6 points above usual in 2023.
0.69% of scheduled departures were cancelled across the Labor Day windows, against 1.15% on ordinary days of the same weekdays. It was lower in two of the three years.
| Year | Departures | On time | Usual | Gap, points | Cancelled | Usual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023Sep 2–4, 2023 | 810 | 90.9% | 73.3% | +17.6better | 0.12% | 1.15% |
| 2024Aug 31 – Sep 2, 2024 | 801 | 62.7% | 73.3% | −10.6worse | 0.37% | 1.15% |
| 2025Aug 30 – Sep 1, 2025 | 847 | 69.4% | 73.3% | −3.9worse | 1.53% | 1.14% |
| All years3 windows | 2,458 | 74.3% | 73.3% | +1.0about the same | 0.69% | 1.15% |
Day by day
The Sunday before Labor Day was the worst day of the window in two of the three years. Over the years it ran 60.0% on time, 14.7 points below an ordinary Sunday.
Labor Day was the best day of the window in two of the three years. Over the years it ran 84.3% on time, 11.1 points above an ordinary Monday.
- 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. A dashed stub is a day with too few flights to print a rate.
| Day | Departures against an ordinary day | On time | Usual | Gap, points | Cancelled | Each year: 2023, 2024, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday beforeoutside the window | 3% more | 64.9% | 64.5% | +0.4about the same | 2.17% | 72.7 · 43.4 · 78.2 |
| Friday beforeoutside the window | 2% more | 64.2% | 69.9% | −5.7worse | 0.85% | 73.9 · 60.3 · 58.6 |
| Saturday before | 5% more | 78.2% | 72.0% | +6.2better | 0.73% | 90.1 · 72.4 · 71.9 |
| Sunday before | about the same | 60.0% | 74.7% | −14.7worse | 0.99% | 92.7 · 36.9 · 50.9 |
| Labor Day | 3% more | 84.3% | 73.2% | +11.1better | 0.36% | 89.8 · 78.3 · 84.7 |
| Tuesday afteroutside the window | 3% more | 85.0% | 75.8% | +9.2better | 0.00% | 89.7 · 86.2 · 79.0 |
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 MIA were Saturday, Sep 2, 2023 (274 departures), Monday, Sep 4, 2023 (274 departures), Sunday, Sep 1, 2024 (267 departures), Monday, Sep 2, 2024 (273 departures), Saturday, Aug 30, 2025 (285 departures), and Monday, Sep 1, 2025 (283 departures).
Across the whole window, flights leaving 5–9 AM had the highest on-time rate: 89.3%, still 1.7 points below usual for that time of day. Those leaving 3–6 PM had the lowest: 63.4%, still 1.9 points above usual for that time of day.
Against usual for their time of day, flights leaving 6–9 PM did best (+6.4 points) and those leaving 12–3 PM did worst (−6.0 points).
On each year’s two busiest days, flights leaving 5–9 AM had the highest on-time rate: 87.8%, still 2.6 points below usual for that time of day. Those leaving 12–3 PM had the lowest: 63.9%, 7.7 points below usual for that time of day.
Against usual for their time of day, flights leaving 6–9 PM did best (+9.0 points) and those leaving 12–3 PM did worst (−7.7 points).
| Leaving | On time, whole window | Usual | Gap, points | On time, busiest days | Usual | Gap, points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5–9 AM | 89.3% | 91.0% | −1.7about the same | 87.8% | 90.4% | −2.6about the same |
| 9 AM–12 PM | 82.6% | 83.4% | −0.8about the same | 84.1% | 83.0% | +1.1about the same |
| 12–3 PM | 65.0% | 71.0% | −6.0worse | 63.9% | 71.6% | −7.7worse |
| 3–6 PM | 63.4% | 61.5% | +1.9about the same | 68.3% | 61.4% | +6.9better |
| 6–9 PM | 70.2% | 63.8% | +6.4better | 72.8% | 63.8% | +9.0better |
| 9 PM–5 AM | 74.6% | 69.9% | +4.7better | 75.8% | 69.0% | +6.8better |
MIA beside every covered airport
Storms and outages move whole regions at once. This puts MIA’s year beside the year of all covered airports together, each against its own usual, to show whether MIA did better or worse than the network.
| Year | MIA on time | MIA, gap from usual | All airports on time | All airports, gap from usual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023Sep 2–4, 2023 | 90.9% | +17.6 | 87.4% | +7.6 |
| 2024Aug 31 – Sep 2, 2024 | 62.7% | −10.6 | 82.1% | +2.4 |
| 2025Aug 30 – Sep 1, 2025 | 69.4% | −3.9 | 82.2% | +2.5 |
For every holiday at once, see the five holidays at MIA, or the network view.