ROMULUS – Delays, flight cancellations, and traveler frustrations have made for a turbulent few months at airports across the country. But has Detroit Metro Airport dealt with those same problems?
Local 4 Consumer Investigator Hank Winchester took an inside look at today’s travel experience. He left Detroit early Wednesday morning and flew to Orlando, the most common destination for flights from DTW.
READ: Full updates from throughout Help Me Hank’s travel test
Hank arrived at the airport around 5:45 a.m. for an 8:30 a.m. flight. It was early, but he wanted to be prepared in case there were any last-minute issues.
There were 11 cancellations Wednesday morning at DTW, but they all affected flights in the other terminal. Hank’s plane touched down in Orlando nearly right on time.
Hank spoke with other travelers who haven’t been as fortunate. Thousands of flights around the United States are being canceled every day because of staffing issues, full planes, pilots protesting working conditions, and overworked flight crews.
But overall, the vast majority of flights out of DTW haven’t been affected. Since April 1, only 1.7% of all flights have been canceled, and 19.2% have been delayed. Delta, Detroit’s most prominent airline, has canceled 1.9% of flights during that time period.
What can you do to adapt to these uncertain times of travel? Be flexible. Buy insurance. Fly midweek, if possible.
FlightAware provided some numbers that show the most common cancellation destinations from DTW over the past few months. You can view those statistics below.
Here are the total number of canceled DTW flights from April 1 through July 4, sorted by airline:
- Delta Airlines: 350 total flights canceled (1.9% of Delta flights)
- Republic Airways: 95 (3.3%)
- Spirit Airlines: 60 (2%)
- SkyWest Airlines: 50 (0.7%)
- Jazz Aviation LP: 49 (15.4%)
- Endeavor Air: 44 (0.9%)
- American Airlines: 28 (2.7%)
- JetBlue: 22 (5.6%)
- PSA Airlines: 15 (4.1%)
- GoJet Airlines: 7 (5.9%)
- United Airlines: 7 (2.9%)
- Alaska Airlines: 6 (4.7%)
- Southwest Airlines: 6 (0.6%)
- Air France: 4 (1.7%)
- CommutAir: 3 (1.9%)
- Envoy Air: 2 (1.1%)
- Frontier Airlines: 2 (0.6%)
- Deutsche Lufthansa AG: 1 (1.5%)
Cancellations by month
Here are the number of flights canceled at DTW, broken down by airline and month.
All carriers:
| Month | Total flights | Canceled flights | Canceled flight % | Delayed flights | Delayed flight % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 11,714 | 192 | 1.6% | 2,307 | 20.5% |
| May | 12,081 | 208 | 1.3% | 2,257 | 18.9% |
| June | 12,072 | 330 | 2.3% | 2,243 | 18.8% |
NOTE: Only individual airlines with at least 900 total flights from DTW from the start of April through the end of June were included in this section.
American Airlines:
| Month | Total flights | Canceled flights | Canceled flight % | Delayed flights | Delayed flight % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 334 | 9 | 2.9% | 41 | 12.6% |
| May | 279 | 1 | 0.3% | 37 | 12.3% |
| June | 326 | 17 | 4.5% | 54 | 15.2% |
Delta Airlines:
| Month | Total flights | Canceled flights | Canceled flight % | Delayed flights | Delayed flight % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 5,034 | 53 | 0.9% | 995 | 20.8% |
| May | 5,292 | 137 | 2.3% | 970 | 19.2% |
| June | 5,238 | 151 | 2.6% | 997 | 20.3% |
Endeavor Air:
| Month | Total flights | Canceled flights | Canceled flight % | Delayed flights | Delayed flight % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 1,567 | 8 | 0.7% | 187 | 13.2% |
| May | 1,461 | 3 | 0.1% | 168 | 11.2% |
| June | 1,378 | 33 | 1.9% | 195 | 13.3% |
Republic Airways:
| Month | Total flights | Canceled flights | Canceled flight % | Delayed flights | Delayed flight % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 486 | 16 | 1.5% | 101 | 16.1% |
| May | 486 | 30 | 3.4% | 108 | 18.6% |
| June | 529 | 49 | 5.2% | 75 | 11.7% |
SkyWest Airlines:
| Month | Total flights | Canceled flights | Canceled flight % | Delayed flights | Delayed flight % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 2,571 | 23 | 1% | 587 | 24.1% |
| May | 2,678 | 12 | 0.4% | 488 | 18.3% |
| June | 2,628 | 15 | 0.8% | 479 | 18.6% |
Southwest Airlines:
| Month | Total flights | Canceled flights | Canceled flight % | Delayed flights | Delayed flight % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 302 | 4 | 1.5% | 60 | 22.3% |
| May | 311 | 1 | 0.2% | 67 | 22% |
| June | 320 | 1 | 0.3% | 58 | 21.6% |
Spirit Airlines:
| Month | Total flights | Canceled flights | Canceled flight % | Delayed flights | Delayed flight % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 765 | 54 | 5.6% | 183 | 21.6% |
| May | 762 | 3 | 0.3% | 171 | 20.4% |
| June | 742 | 3 | 0.5% | 99 | 13% |
Cancellations by destination
Here are the destinations from DTW that had the most cancellations from April 1 through July 4, sorted by carrier:
NOTE: These carriers each had at least 20 flights canceled during this time period.
All carriers:
- Newark -- 76 flights canceled (7.3%)
- La Guardia -- 60 (4.9%)
- Orlando -- 31 (2.4%)
- Toronto -- 30 (4.4%)
American Airlines:
- Dallas-Fort Worth -- 11 (2.6%)
- Charlotte -- 10 (2.6%)
- Miami -- 5 (4.6%)
- Phoenix -- 2 (1.6%)
Delta:
- La Guardia -- 32 (6.2%)
- San Francisco -- 20 (6%)
- Orlando -- 20 (3.3%)
- Ft. Lauderdale -- 15 (3.4%)
Endeavor Air:
- New York (JFK) -- 12 (3.1%)
- Toronto Pearson -- 5 (1.7%)
- Norfolk -- 3 (5%)
- Lehigh Valley -- 3 (1.6%)
Jazz Aviation LP:
- Toronto Pearson -- 25 (8.7%)
- Montréal-Dorval -- 24 (34.8%)
JetBlue:
- New York (JFK) -- 12 (6.3%)
- Boston Logan -- 10 (5.1%)
Republic Airways:
- Newark -- 63 (13.2%)
- LaGuardia -- 25 (5.8%)
- Washington, D.C. (Reagan) -- 4 (2.3%)
SkyWest Airlines:
- Chicago O’Hare -- 4 (0.5%)
- Tucson -- 3 (30%)
- Cleveland -- 3 (1.1%)
- Washington Dulles -- 3 (1.1%)
Spirit:
- Orlando -- 10 (2.3%)
- Los Angeles -- 8 (4.2%)
- Fort Myers -- 8 (3.2%)
- Las Vegas -- 6 (3%)
Hank’s travels
You can watch the full updates from Hank’s travels in the videos below.