Charlotte Douglas nears top of list for most airport cancellations in the US

CHARLOTTE — Charlotte Douglas International Airport is making a name for itself as one of the most difficult airports for travelers.

According to data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Charlotte’s airport had the sixth-highest number of cancellations in the county in the last year at 5,355.

In addition, the airport had the 10th-highest number of delayed flights across U.S. airports, with 33,418 delays.

When it comes to airlines, Southwest had the most canceled flights and delays in the last year — 32,779 flights and 329,870 delays, a number nine times higher than Frontier and four times higher than JetBlue.

It’s not a new designation for Charlotte.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport has been among the nation’s hardest hit by flight delays so far this summer, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal based on data from FlightAware. CLT, where 29.7% of flights were delayed and 3.4% canceled, landed fifth among U.S. airports.

American Airlines told Channel 9 that weather and air traffic control initiatives were largely to blame for some of the delays that plagued the airport over the summer. A representative said that bad weather starts a domino effect that creates the perfect storm for delays and cancellations.

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