Small Airports, Big Headaches: New York’s Regional Hubs Among America’s Most Stressful

When travelers think of airport nightmares, massive hubs like JFK or LaGuardia typically come to mind—endless security lines, crowded terminals, and the constant hustle of New York City’s air travel machine. Yet surprisingly, a new study reveals that some of the most stressful airport experiences in America aren’t happening at these transportation giants, but rather at tiny regional airports tucked away in upstate New York and other less-traveled corners of the country. This counterintuitive finding comes from CBD company Mood.com, which evaluated 384 U.S. airports on factors including cancellation rates, delays, passenger volumes, and Google reviews to create a comprehensive “stress score” for each facility. The results paint a picture of air travel that might surprise even the most seasoned flyers: smaller doesn’t necessarily mean smoother when it comes to your journey through America’s aviation system.

Topping the national list is Aspen/Pitkin County Airport in Colorado with a stress score of 4.95 out of 10, where nearly 9% of flights never leave the ground and average departure delays exceed 45 minutes. But New York State makes its presence known immediately after, with Watertown International Airport claiming the second-most stressful spot in the nation with a score of 4.68. This small upstate facility, serving fewer than 24,000 passengers annually, cancels 8.8% of its flights and typically keeps travelers waiting about 40 minutes past scheduled arrival times. The trend continues with Plattsburgh International Airport near the Adirondacks ranking eighth nationwide with a stress score of 4.28. These rankings suggest that the quaint charm of regional airports often comes with a hidden cost—fewer resources to handle disruptions, limited flight options when things go wrong, and the special frustration of being stranded in locations with fewer amenities or alternative transportation options.

What makes these smaller airports particularly challenging appears to be their vulnerability to disruption. When weather hits, staffing shortages occur, or mechanical issues arise, regional facilities lack the operational flexibility of major hubs. Maryland’s Hagerstown Regional Airport (ranked third) demonstrates this painfully with average departure delays approaching two hours, while Wisconsin’s Chippewa Valley Regional Airport (fourth place) routinely sees arrivals land more than an hour behind schedule. Even when major airports make the list—as with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport ranking tenth despite being the world’s busiest—they do so with different stress factors. Atlanta’s challenges stem more from sheer volume and navigational complexity than from the severe delays and cancellations plaguing smaller facilities. The pattern suggests that regional airports face a double burden: they must maintain the same safety standards and operational requirements as larger facilities but with significantly fewer resources, backup systems, and recovery options.

The research highlights that certain stress factors weigh more heavily on travelers than others, with flight cancellations and extended delays causing the most significant anxiety. When a flight is canceled at a major hub, passengers typically have multiple rebooking options, perhaps even on different airlines. At regional airports, a cancellation might mean waiting until the next day—or longer—as many smaller facilities offer just one or two daily flights on a given route. This creates a unique vulnerability for regional travelers, who must build additional buffer time into their journeys and prepare contingency plans for potential disruptions. Other airports rounding out the top ten most stressful list include Houghton County Memorial Airport in Michigan, Tyler Pounds Regional in Texas, North Central West Virginia Airport, MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Illinois, and the previously mentioned Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta. The geographical diversity of these stress centers suggests that the challenges facing regional air travel aren’t limited to any particular region of the country but represent a nationwide pattern.

Yet amid these challenges, the research also points to bright spots in the American airport landscape. Drawing on a separate 2024 AirHelp study, Sacramento International Airport emerges as a model of efficiency with an impressive 82.3% of flights departing on time. Other standouts include San Jose International (82.06% on-time performance), Arizona’s Tucson International (81.33%), Nevada’s Reno-Tahoe International (81.18%), and Georgia’s Savannah/Hilton Head International (80.47%). These success stories suggest that neither size nor location necessarily predetermines an airport’s operational effectiveness. Instead, factors like management practices, infrastructure investment, scheduling decisions, and even local weather patterns all contribute to creating either smoothly functioning facilities or stress-inducing bottlenecks. The contrast between these high-performers and the stress leaders offers valuable insights for travelers planning their journeys and for aviation authorities working to improve the passenger experience nationwide.

For travelers, these findings deliver a clear if somewhat counterintuitive message: the most stressful airport experience might not be navigating the hustle and bustle of America’s largest aviation hubs, but rather waiting for a delayed puddle-jumper at a remote regional facility with limited amenities and few alternative options. This reality invites a reconsideration of travel strategies, particularly for those with tight connections or inflexible schedules. Building extra buffer time, researching alternative transportation options, and perhaps even choosing slightly larger regional airports over the smallest facilities might help reduce travel anxiety. Meanwhile, the aviation industry faces its own set of challenges in addressing these regional disparities—balancing the economic realities of serving smaller markets with the need to provide reliable service and reasonable passenger experiences. As regional air travel continues to play an essential role in connecting communities across America, finding ways to reduce these stress points becomes increasingly important for passengers and providers alike in our interconnected travel ecosystem.