In-the-know travelers often choose to fly early in the morning or late at night. By flying at off-peak times, they can avoid crowds, lines, and delays. However, some airports are better at handling these types of flights than others. A new study by Upgraded Points reveals the best airports for off-peak flying.
Early and late-night flights can help you save money and reduce stress. When you fly early in the morning, you can avoid delays from earlier flights. Late at night, things are quieter and more relaxed. To find out which airports are best equipped for early birds and night owls, Upgraded Points analyzed the 50 busiest airports using factors including the percentage of flights departing before 8am and after 8pm, delay rates for these flights, average departure delay in minutes and—perhaps most importantly—the number of places in each airport that sell coffee and alcohol.
If you prefer early-morning flights, the best airport is Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. With a total score of 39.9 out of 50, CLE sees 38.5 percent of flights depart before 8am, with a delay rate of just 13.9 percent. Kansas City International Airport comes in second with 39 percent of flights departing before 8am and the third highest number of coffee spots in the study with one per one million passengers. At number three is Southwest Florida International Airport, with a delay rate of just 12.4 percent and .79 places that sell coffee per one million passengers. The best airports for night owls are, in order, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and Salt Lake City International Airport.
Off-peak fliers beware: the worst airports for early morning flights are Miami International Airport with a delay rate of 31.6 percent and an average delay of seven minutes, Salt Lake City International Airport with a measly 9.4 percent of flights departing before 8am and very few places that serve coffee and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport with the lowest number of flights departing before 8am at 4.7 percent. The worst airports for late-night flights are Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, San Antonio International Airport, and Boston Logan International Airport.
Find the full results of the study here.