Extreme Heat Can Force an Airline to Remove You From Your Flight. These Are the Airports Where It Happens Most.

On July 24, 2026, American Airlines offered compensation to passengers on a Las Vegas flight who agreed to voluntarily give up their seats. The temperature at Harry Reid International Airport that afternoon was 114 degrees. The physics behind that decision are the same at airports across the American Southwest - and the risk is not going away.

Why Heat Grounds and Bumps Flights

Hot air is less dense than cold air. Less dense air produces less lift. When temperatures rise high enough, aircraft reach a physical ceiling: the runway may not be long enough to accelerate to the speed required for takeoff at maximum weight, given how little lift the air provides. The only solution is to reduce weight - fuel, cargo, or passengers.

This is called a weight restriction. Airlines calculate maximum takeoff weight before every departure using three variables: the aircraft’s loaded weight, the airport’s elevation, and the outside temperature. On extreme heat days, that math produces a smaller number than the plane currently weighs.

The Airports Most Vulnerable

Not all airports face equal risk. Three conditions combine to create the highest exposure: high ambient temperatures, high elevation, and short runways.

Las Vegas (Harry Reid) combines desert heat with a mid-elevation location. Phoenix Sky Harbor operates in triple-digit summer conditions routinely. Denver International sits at 5,431 feet, where thinner air is already the baseline before heat compounds it. New York’s LaGuardia has one of the shortest runways of any major U.S. airport and no room to expand.

A 2017 Columbia University study projected that up to 30 percent of all U.S. flights could face weight restrictions during high-heat periods by mid-century.

What Travelers Can Do

Book the earliest morning departure available when flying through heat-vulnerable airports in summer. Aircraft operate closer to maximum takeoff weight on cooler morning temperatures; mid-afternoon heat is when weight restrictions most commonly occur. If you hold a connecting flight and are bumped from a heat-restricted departure, document everything for rebooking and compensation claims under DOT rules.

References: Too Hot to Fly? How Summer Heatwaves Ground and Disrupt Flights | Rising Temperatures Could Keep More Flights From Taking Off on Time | Extreme Heat Makes Flying Even Worse