Travelers spent upwards of 78 million hours in the air in 2025, covering 34 billion miles, according to Flighty’s new Global Passport Report. But not all that time was spent moving forward. As per usual, flight delays piled up, costing passengers a staggering 3.9 million hours of lost travel time across the globe.
Flighty’s report tracks real-world flight metrics for millions of passengers. It ranks the most delayed airlines, shedding light on which carriers consistently ran behind schedule.
Top Delayed Airlines in the U.S.
- Frontier Airlines – 28% of flights delayed
- JetBlue Airways – 25%
- Southwest Airlines – 25%
- American Airlines – 24%
- Alaska Airlines – 23%
Worldwide, Ryanair topped the charts as the most delayed airline. Flighty also measured time passengers spent waiting to deplane—a metric fittingly dubbed “Get Me Off This Plane”— capturing minutes stretched by taxiing, gate congestion and holding patterns.
For travelers who value efficiency when flying, Flighty’s data paints a clear picture: some airlines consistently keep you out of the air for longer than others.
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.