Last updated: December 23, 2025
You have probably noticed that most air travel rankings primarily concern the best airports and airlines - it is always the top performers that stand out. And while it’s good to know which air carriers and airports provide consistent good service, it’s also not a bad idea to know which ones to avoid. That way, you can make a well-informed decision when planning your vacations or business trips.
So we at SkyRefund decided to shake things up and use our company data to make a list of the worst airports in 2025. You might wonder what makes an airport bad. Naturally, there are many criteria on which you can base your evaluation—how comfortable the facilities are, how quick the queues are at security, how easy it is to get information, whether your luggage was damaged or lost, how helpful the staff is, etc.
These factors could be quite subjective, though, and in the end, we can all probably agree that the most important aspect of every airport experience is whether the plane takes off on time, if at all. That is why we based our ranking on the number of flight disruptions, listing the airports as a departure point in 2025.
We've ranked the top 5 worst airports on every continent. So if you've ever been stuck in an endless delay or had a flight canceled out of the blue, and you wouldn’t want to experience it again, our ranking will be of help. We’ve got the insider information on the worst airports and will gladly share it with you.
NORTH AMERICA
As you can see, the top contender for the worst North American airport is John F. Kennedy in NYC. On some level that makes sense: it is the busiest out of seven in the Big Apple, with over 2.5 million passengers flying through it every month.
If you are curious about the top 10 busiest airports in the world, you can check out our article.
Some other airports worth mentioning when we discuss the worst North American airports include Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada, Cancún International Airport in Mexico, and San Francisco International Airport.
EUROPE
We included six airports from Europe as the number of disruptions in Barcelona and Amsterdam was relatively the same.
Europe was hit by a wave of ATC strikes, mostly in France during the summer of 2025. This led to delays and cancellations throughout the whole continent during the warmer months.
In the colder months, most of the disruptions reported at these airports were due to severe weather conditions, with several major storms hitting Europe early in the year.
SOUTH AMERICA
It should come as no surprise that the airport in São Paulo takes the gold. Guarulhos International Airport is the biggest airport in South America, with over 4 million passengers monthly on average.
ASIA & PACIFIC
Recent chaos in India surrounding the cancellation of thousands of flights by IndiGo pushed two of the country's biggest airports higher in our ranking.
According to Cirium, the Asia Pacific region has the largest volume of disrupted flights, with almost 18 thousand canceled flights only in November 2025.
AFRICA
While Africa is the largest continent, it's also the continent with the least amount of flight disruptions this year. Most of the reported disruptions were on international flights.
As we already mentioned, our data is based on the compensation claims we have received from our customers about each airport. What do we mean by compensation?
According to international aviation regulations, air passengers are entitled to financial compensation up to $700 in case of flight delays and cancellations. So you can be compensated if, due to reasons controllable by the airline, your flight is
Enter your flight details in our free compensation calculator, check your eligibility, and leave the rest to SkyRefund’s expert team. We will file your claim, fight for your rights (even in court if needed), and best of all, only charge you a fee if we successfully get your money!
If your flight is delayed or canceled, there is a silver lining—you can be compensated up to $700 for your troubles. But how do you claim?
This is where we can help you. With over 8 years of legal experience in the field of aviation law, SkyRefund is a flight compensation company helping passengers exercise their rights.
Trusted by over 1M passengers, we represent your rights in front of the airline and help you get your compensation.
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