INDIANAPOLIS -- In a spring/summer travel season that has seen long lines and pointed fingers at TSA, here's some news that doesn't provide any relief to traveling Hoosiers: Indianapolis International Airport is the 18th worst in the country for flight delay times during summer travel, according to a recent study.
Nerdwallet compiled numbers from the U.S. Transportation Department’s Bureau of Transportation statistics, looking at 4.7 million summer flights (June-August) from 2013-2015. Of those flights, 14 percent were delayed by 30+ minutes and 7 percent were delayed by more than 1 hour. The longest recorded was a 27-hour delay.
The study also looked at restaurant quality from Yelp scores for when you do have to wait, the number of outright canceled flights, the wait times at TSA and customs lines. Nerdwallet then assigned a score, which landed Indy 18th worst.
What's worse is that many flights from IND connect through larger airports in Chicago and New York, all cities who are even worse off when it comes to delay times (and is in part what causes those IND delays in the first place!).
Take a look at the worst 10 airports below:
Via: NerdWallet
So what can you do to ease that pesky travel this year with those long security lines and flight delays in mind?
Enroll in TSA-precheck. Even if you travel just a couple times of year, it will ease any pain you might have at the security checkpoint, and allow you more flexibility with arrival times.
Also consider access to airport lounges - these can come through mileage reward programs from respective airport brands, as well as through some premium credit cards. It all helps ease the pain of those hours-on-end you'll spend trying to fight for the last outlet on the wall to charge your phone.
The good news: If you're traveling to Hawaii, Honolulu International Airport recorded the fewest delays during the summer months of the same time period examined. Aloha!
