On July 22, 2026, FAA delay programs affected 16 airports across the United States with a total of 26 active delay programs. Boston Logan International Airport was the worst-hit facility, experiencing peak maximum delays of 434 minutes under a ground delay program caused by thunderstorms.
Overview of Airports and Delay Program Types
Sixteen US airports recorded FAA delay programs during the day, ranging from ground stops, which hold departures bound for an airport on the ground at their origin, to ground delay programs that meter arrivals by assigning later departure times. Ground stop programs accounted for 10 of the 26 total delay programs, ground delay programs made up 3, and 13 were classified as general arrival/departure delay information.
Boston Logan International (BOS) endured two types of delay programs. It had a ground stop in effect for 21 hours and 20 minutes and a ground delay program spanning 22 hours. The ground delay
program at BOS produced the highest peak average delay of 166 minutes and peak maximum delay of 434 minutes. Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) and Newark Liberty International (EWR) airports also experienced ground stops lasting up to 14 hours and 3 hours 20 minutes respectively. Denver International Airport (DEN) had a short ground stop of 20 minutes and a ground delay program lasting 1 hour and 20 minutes.
| Airport | FAA programme | Cause | Peak average delay | In force (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Logan International (BOS) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 00:00 to 21:20 (21 hours 20 minutes) |
| Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 00:00 to 14:00 (14 hours) |
| Newark Liberty International (EWR) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 00:00 to 03:20 (3 hours 20 minutes) |
| TEB | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 00:00 to 03:20 (3 hours 20 minutes) |
| Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 00:00 to 03:20 (3 hours 20 minutes) |
| John F. Kennedy International (JFK) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 00:00 to 03:20 (3 hours 20 minutes) |
| LaGuardia (LGA) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 00:00 to 03:20 (3 hours 20 minutes) |
| Washington Dulles International (IAD) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 00:00 to 03:20 (3 hours 20 minutes) |
| BNA | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 01:20 to 03:20 (2 hours) |
| Denver International (DEN) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 22:00 to 22:00 (20 minutes) |
| Boston Logan International (BOS) | Ground Delay Programs | thunderstorms | 166 min | 00:00 to 22:00 (22 hours) |
| Denver International (DEN) | Ground Delay Programs | thunderstorms | 101 min | 20:40 to 22:00 (1 hour 20 minutes) |
| San Francisco International (SFO) | Ground Delay Programs | other | 31 min | 00:00 to 19:20 (19 hours 20 minutes) |
| TEB | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | TM Initiatives:SWAP:WX | 391 min | 00:00 to 19:20 (19 hours 20 minutes) |
Causes of Delay Programs with Thunderstorms Leading
Thunderstorms were the leading cause for delay programs on July 22, contributing to 108 samples of delay events, mostly tied to ground stops and ground delay programs at multiple airports including BOS,
DCA, EWR, JFK, LGA, IAD, and DEN. The FAA also reported causes related specifically to weather with designations such as “TM Initiatives:SWAP:WX” accounting for 129 delay samples, which were primarily seen at airports like TEB, PHL, and LGA. Other causes included “TM Initiatives:MIT:WX” with 10 samples and miscellaneous “other” reasons totaling 34 samples, such as at San Francisco International (SFO) where the cause was not attributed to weather but listed as “other.”
Comparison to Previous Day and Weekly Average
Compared to July 21, the number of active delay programs dropped by 9, from 41 to 26, while the number of affected airports decreased from 25 to 16.
This count is also below the seven-day average of 21.4 airports affected. Despite this reduction, the delay figures at Boston Logan remained substantial but did not reach the worst delay levels observed in recent days. The FAA data tracked by travelandtournews.com shows July 22 was not the worst day in the monitoring window.
Methodology. travelandtournews.com samples the FAA’s National Airspace System status feed every 20 minutes throughout the US operating day and aggregates the result. This report is built from 67 samples taken between 00:00 and 22:00 UTC on 2026-07-22. Durations are the observed window between the first and last
sample in which a programme was in force, so a programme’s true length may be slightly longer than shown. Ground stops, ground delay programmes, airport closures and general delays are all published by the FAA in real time; the daily aggregation is ours.
