Travelers report few issues when using John Wayne Airport this turbulent season

Navigating flight disruptions has become routine this summer for travelers eager to explore the world after being cooped up during the pandemic, but passengers using John Wayne Airport report meeting relatively few headwinds as they’ve embarked on journeys there.

“There has not been a significant increase in complaints at the information booths or the information line,” said AnnaSophia Servin, the spokesperson for the Orange County airport.

Servin said the facility has seen an increase in travelers over the past year. May 2022 saw 1,003,510 passengers at JWA, an increase of 71.3% over the numbers recorded in May 2021. Between July 1 and July 7 this year, which included the busy Fourth of July weekend, there were 1,888 flights, up from 1,341 during the third week of June.

Around the globe Thursday, nearly 16,000 flights were delayed as of noon Pacific time, and 2,055 were canceled, according to FlightAware tracking data. At JWA there had been zero cancellations over the previous 24 hours.

Newport Beach resident Taelor Snyder, design consultant for Snyder Collaborative Designs, said she personally has never had a bad experience flying in or out of JWA.

“It’s an amazing airport with easy access to and from the terminals, short lines, great food and beverages spots,” Snyder said. “However, the perks of our little local O.C. airport don’t outweigh the misery of traveling these days. Flights are through the roof expensive and you’re lucky to get on the plane.”

Snyder, who had been stranded in Nashville in April due to a cancellation, had to spend the night there and barely made the flight out the following day.

“Traveling now means you best prepare for overnight stays in the airport and extra expenses for accommodations and dining in strange cities,” she said. “I certainly don’t get that same giddy feeling about flying that I used to when things ran according to plan.”

Servin said delay times at John Wayne Airport are not tracked, but that most delays involved trips to and from Dallas, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and Seattle. Southwest had the most delays, Servin noted, “as they had the most flights.”

When asked about reasons for delays and cancellations specific to JWA, Servin said the airport does not speculate on the reasons airlines may be experiencing issues.

Frequent flier Tamara Swann, who has logged in 50,000 miles so far this year and over 200,000 in 2019, said she almost missed a recent flight departing from John Wayne Airport because she had a hard time finding a place to park her vehicle.

“This is the first time I haven’t found parking,” said Swann, who was headed to an overnight meeting in Denver last month. “I have been driving around the parking garage for 45 minutes. This is the first time I’ve flown from here and I got here earlier because I wasn’t familiar.”

Swann said that as stressful as the parking garage was, the ease of her departure and the overall flight experience had more than made up for it.

Pat and Meridee Banas of Balboa Island had nothing but praise for the staff at JWA who they found to be “extremely accommodating” in helping them get to where they needed to be prior to departing for Hermosillo, Mexico, last month.

But once they tried to connect in Phoenix it all fell apart for them. There was no airport staff assistance, then gates changed, the flight was delayed and eventually canceled by American Airlines. “The excuses didn’t add up,” said Meridee Banas. “The hotel they put us in was in a seedy part of town and we lost day and a half of our vacation.”

On July 6 finger-pointing began between United Airlines and the FAA for the rash of flight cancellations and flight disruptions in the U.S. United blamed in part the Airline Traffic Control staffing system. The FAA fired back, issuing a statement saying, “... The reality is that multiple overlapping factors have affected the system, including airline staffing levels, weather, high volume and ATC capacity, but the majority of delays and cancellations are not because of staffing at FAA.”

United Airlines, which serves passengers at John Wayne Airport, did not respond to requests for comment.

There is a new director at the local airport, Charlene Reynolds, a 20-year veteran of the industry who stepped into her role last month after serving as the chief commercial officer for Houston Airport System. In a statement, Reynolds said she is excited to be “part of an award-winning organization and look forward to the challenge and recent growth in travel and interest in John Wayne Airport.

“My priorities focus on ensuring the airport is sensitive to noise impacts as a good neighbor, advocating employee engagement, furthering current sustainability efforts, enhancing the overall guest experience and maintaining financial health.”

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