Attention, Passengers: Here Is the Worst Day to Fly

Mondays signal something beyond just the end of a weekend and the start of a new workweek.

They also feature more delayed and canceled flights than any other day of the week, according to Stratos Jet Charters. The company reached that conclusion after analyzing federal government data for the months this year of January to August.

During that time period, 17,439 Monday flights were canceled. By comparison, only 6,600 Friday flights and 6,564 Saturday flights were canceled. Those two days saw fewer delayed and canceled flights than any other day of the week.

Stratos spokesperson Kip Wright tells MarketWatch that Mondays tend to be busy flying days partly because they are the start of the workweek and are therefore a popular day for business travelers to fly.

Some airports also see more cancellations than others.

Stratos’ analysis found that the airports with the greatest number of cancellations from January to August this year were:

1. Chicago O’Hare International Airport
2. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
3. LaGuardia Airport
4. Newark Liberty International Airport
5. Boston’s Logan International Airport

Jim Hetzel, a vice president at the aviation data company FlightStats, tells MarketWatch that weather is the No. 1 reason flights are delayed on any given day of the week.

While consumers can’t control the weather, Hetzel says they can try to decrease the chances of booking a flight at risk of being canceled or delayed by:

• Choosing connections in cities that don’t tend to get a lot of snow or rain.
• Choosing flights before 8 a.m. (which tend to be delayed less often) or after about 6 p.m. (by which time airlines sometimes have caught up if they were delayed).

If you’re unable to avoid a canceled flight, check out “9 Moves to Make When Your Flight Is Canceled.”

What’s your best tip for avoiding flight cancellations and delays? Let us know below or on Facebook.