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The 2026 FIFA World Cup is around the corner, and fans will be traveling all over to catch the world’s biggest soccer tournament.
But many could have trouble getting to their final destinations.
Passengers jetting to New York and New Jersey are headed for some turbulence, as two area airports landed among the worst in a new ranking — and one came in dead last.
John F. Kennedy International Airport was the worst overall World Cup airport in a study by gambling site Doc’s Sports Service, which ranked 25 hubs serving host regions based on 2025 performance data from the US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Newark Liberty International Airport ranked a lowly 23rd out of 25, spared the 24th spot by just slightly worse, second-to-last ranked Philadelphia International Airport.
The study factored in the federal government’s reliability, efficiency, connectivity and affordability stats to rate airports in and around New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, Seattle, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Houston, Kansas City, Boston and the San Francisco Bay area.
The World Cup, set for June 11 to 19, is expected to see more than 10 million fans jet to the 11 host cities, making it “one of the country’s largest coordinated travel tests in years,” according to Doc’s Sports.
JFK, with a dreadful overall score of 16.2 out of a possible 100, was dragged down by its efficiency ranking — the weakest of them all — as well as low affordability. Last year, the airport, which will host the tournament final, logged an average taxi-out time of 28.8 minutes from gate departure to takeoff, the longest among all 25 airports; its average domestic fare was $462.
While reliability at JFK wasn’t so bad — 78.8% of departures and 77.3% of arrivals were on time — the numbers weren’t strong enough to offset the negatives.
JFK is also in the middle of a major development program involving new terminals and an overhauled roadway network, making the timing of World Cup travel not ideal.
Newark Liberty International Airport, meanwhile, ranked 23rd with an overall score of 29.4, dragged down by low efficiency and affordability scores. The airport had a 2025 on-time arrival rate of 72.8%, an average taxi-out time of 25.9 minutes, and an average domestic fare of $449.
Newark’s recent operational problems — such as runway construction and staffing and technology issues at the Philadelphia TRACON facility that guides aircraft in and out of the airport — make EWR a complicated stop for the tournament.
MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, will host five group stage matches, one Round of 32 match, one Round of 16 match, and the FIFA World Cup 26 Final.
“On one hand, Newark is geographically useful for MetLife Stadium, especially compared with JFK,” the study noted. “On the other hand, its recent history of air-traffic constraints raises the risk of disruptions.”
The study suggested that travelers might be better off choosing flights with “extra schedule padding, avoiding tight connections and comparing EWR against LGA or JFK depending on route, price and ground transportation.”
Meanwhile, LaGuardia Airport came in a less pathetic 18th with an overall score of 37.7. The airport had a departure on-time rate of 77.7% and an average domestic fare of $386. However, LGA had the highest cancellation rate among the 25 airports, with 3% of scheduled departures canceled.
The study listed five airports for the FIFA host region of Los Angeles, and results showed that the best airport might not always be the biggest or most popular one. LA-based Ontario International Airport (ONT) came in first place overall for World Cup airports, with an overall score of 76.1.
Its strong efficiency score and solid reliability make ONT “an unexpected leader” in the region, with 82.6% of departures in 2025 leaving on time, an average departure delay of 13 minutes, and an average taxi-out time of 14.1 minutes. The airport also had a low cancellation rate of just 0.9%.
As the study notes, ONT isn’t exactly the most convenient airport for Inglewood, where the matches will be taking place, but it’s one of the region’s “least operationally painful options.”
Another smaller LA hub, Long Beach Airport (LGB), came in second overall — and “may be the most traveler-friendly airport in the Los Angeles cluster,” according to the evaluation.
LGB had an overall score of 76 and the best efficiency score among the top five, with an average taxi-out of just 12.4 minutes and an average taxi-in of 4.2 minutes. It also had high reliability numbers — 84.3% of departures and 83.1% of arrivals were on time, and the average departure delay was just 9.6 minutes.
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) came in at No. 8 with an overall score of 60.7, putting three airports for the Los Angeles/Inglewood hub in the top 10. Hollywood-Burbank Airport (BUR) just missed the cutoff, coming in 11th with a score of 52.3. John Wayne Airport (SNA) was toward the bottom in 21st place and an overall score of 34.4.
San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC), servicing the San Francisco Bay Area and Santa Clara, ranked No. 3 overall among FIFA airports and stood out as the best-performing airport in the Bay Area group. SJC, the closest major airport to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, scored 65.6 overall with strong reliability and efficiency numbers.
In 2025, 83.3% of departures and 82.0% of arrivals were on time, the average departure delay was 10.6 minutes, and the average taxi-out time was 14.3 minutes.
Meanwhile, Oakland International Airport (OAK) was No. 7 with an overall score of 62.5, and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) came in toward the bottom at No. 20 with a score of 35.9.
Best airports for 2026 World Cup travelers
- Ontario International Airport (ONT)
- Long Beach Airport (LGB)
- Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC)
- Dallas Love Field (DAL)
- William P. Hobby Airport (HOU)
- Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport (PVD)
- Oakland International Airport (OAK)
- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
- Paine Field (PAE)
- Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
Worst airports for 2026 World Cup travelers
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
- Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
- Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
- Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
- John Wayne Airport (SNA)
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
- Palm Beach International Airport (PBI)
- LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
- Kansas City International Airport (MCI)
- George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
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