Phoenix Sky Harbor is a good bet for on-time Labor Day travel

PHOENIX — Travelers flying out of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport for the Labor Day weekend will likely make it to their destination on time.

A new report by RewardExpert ranked Sky Harbor the fourth-best airport in the United States for getting travelers to or from their Labor Day destinations on time.

Using five years of flight data from the Department of Transportation, the report found 88.5 percent of flights from Sky Harbor departed or arrived on time for the Labor Day weekend.

“I can say that weather is definitely a major factor,” said Rowan Tepper, senior analyst at RewardExpert. “It’s after the peak of the heat season, so heat-related delays would be over.”

Another factor for the high ranking: Some of the major airlines with high performances fly out of Sky Harbor. That includes American, Southwest and United Airlines.

Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu was listed as the best airport to fly in or out of, with a 90.9 percent on-time performance rate for Labor Day weekend.

Salt Lake International Airport came in second with a 90.7 percent rate, and Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport came in third at 89.5 percent.

The report also looked at the best and worst days to fly during the Labor Day weekend. It found the Friday before Labor Day and the Tuesday after have historically been the worst days for on-time departures and arrivals.

“We found that Wednesday and Thursday before are typically fairly good, and the Wednesday after is also very good,” Tepper said.

The report also found that airlines can impact the travelers’ departure and arrival times. Of the major U.S. airlines, Hawaiian was ranked the best with a 94.8 percent on-time performance. Alaska came in second at 90.4 percent, and Delta was third at 87.9 percent.

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