Report: Denver-based Frontier among worst airlines for delays in 2025

Denver7 · May 20, 2026 · 600 words · By Jaclyn Allen

Consumer Protection Traveler Frustration Airline Performance and Reliability

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DENVER — The Colorado Public Interest Research Group says 2025 brought the worst nationwide on-time arrival rate since 2014, with Denver-based Frontier Airlines among the poorest performers.

Claims checked 24

Techniques found 1

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center83%

Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

DENVER — The Colorado Public Interest Research Group says 2025 brought the worst nationwide on-time arrival rate since 2014, with Denver-based Frontier Airlines among the poorest performers.

Why it matters

Frontier had the highest percentage of flights arriving more than an hour late and ranked in the top three worst carriers for cancellations and involuntary bumping, according to CoPIRG’s annual Plane Truth 2026 analysis.

Common ground

Southwest Airlines was among the best for on-time arrivals.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Consumer Protection story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Frontier had the highest percentage of flights arriving more than an hour late?
How does this story connect Consumer Protection with Traveler Frustration over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.denver7.com/news/investigations/report-denver-based-frontier-among-w…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 24 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 14

verified Verified By Reference 5

info Single Source 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified

Claim 1: “Frontier had the highest percentage of flights arriving more than an hour late”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The evidence provides general information about Frontier Airlines (headquarters, business model) but contains no statistics regarding the percentage of flights arriving more than an hour late in 2025.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Denver International Airport (IATA: DEN, ICAO: KDEN, FAA LID: DEN), often referred to by locals as DIA, is an international airport in the Western United States, primarily serving metropolitan Denver,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denver_International_Airport

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Frontier Airlines, Inc., is an American ultra-low-cost airline headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It operates flights to over 120 destinations in the United States, the Caribbean, Mexico and Central A…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontier_Airlines

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Midwest Airlines (formerly Midwest Express Airlines) was an airline in the United States headquartered in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, that operated from Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport between 1984…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwest_Airlines

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 2: “Worst (highest percentage of cancellations): American, Frontier, JetBlue”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 3: “Best (lowest percentage mishandled): Allegiant, JetBlue, Southwest”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 4: “Frontier... ranked in the top three worst carriers for cancellations and involuntary bumping”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The evidence confirms Frontier is an ultra-low-cost airline but does not provide any rankings or data regarding cancellations or involuntary bumping for 2025.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Frontier Airlines was a local service carrier, a scheduled airline in the United States that was formed by the merger of Arizona Airways, Challenger Airlines, and Monarch Air Lines on June 1, 1950. He…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontier_Airlines_(1950–1986)

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 5: “Worst (highest percentage mishandled): United, American, Hawaiian”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 6: “Worst (highest percentage mishandled): JetBlue, Frontier, American”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 7: “One in 12 flights arrived over an hour late”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence consists of a productivity article and general flight tracking tools; no statistical data regarding the 1 in 12 flight delay rate is present.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ_HacmHuzQ

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — See if your flight has been delayed or cancelled and track the live position on a map. FlightStats is the recognized leader in commercial airline flight status tracking.
https://www.flightstats.com/v2/flight-tracker/search

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Flight Arrivals information at Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO): Status and Estimated times - Today.Once located, you can click on the flight number or the [+] symbol next to the flight status to view mor…
https://www.roma-airport.com/fiumicino-fco-arrivals

info

Claim 8: “Domestic tarmac delays lasting more than three hours rose 63% compared with 2024”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided consists only of dictionary definitions for the word 'domestic' and contains no data on tarmac delays or percentage increases.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 4 days ago · The meaning of DOMESTIC is living near or about human habitations. How to use domestic in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/domestic

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — DOMESTIC definition: 1. relating to a person's own country: 2. belonging or relating to the home, house, or family: 3…. Learn more.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/domestic

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — DOMESTIC definition: of or relating to the home, the household, household affairs, or the family. See examples of domestic used in a sentence.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/domestic

schedule

Claim 9: “airlines can be fined $27,500 per passenger for tarmac delays over three hours”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 10: “Best (lowest percentage bumped): Delta and Allegiant (tied for No. 1), Southwest”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 11: “Colorado Springs’... departure rate of 78.3% higher than DIA’s 73.9%”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found after searching for the departure rates of Colorado Springs airport or Denver International Airport.

schedule

Claim 12: “Worst (highest percentage bumped): Frontier, American, Spirit”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 13: “Southwest Airlines was among the best for on-time arrivals”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While one web result mentions a Cirium report stating Delta was the most punctual US airline for 2025, there is no specific mention of Southwest Airlines' ranking or performance in that context.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) was a low-cost airline in the United States headquartered in San Diego, California, that operated from 1949 to 1988. Founded by Kenny Friedkin and J. Floyd Andrews, it…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Southwest_Airlines

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Southwest Airlines is a major airline in the United States. It is headquartered in the Love Field neighborhood of Dallas, Texas. It is the fourth-largest airline in North America when measured by pass…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Airlines

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — As of December 2025, Southwest Airlines operates an all-Boeing 737 fleet with 803 aircraft, making it the fifth largest commercial airline fleet in the world and the largest 737 operator. Additionally…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Airlines_fleet

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 14: “One in nine flights arrived 45 minutes or more late”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The evidence provided for this claim is completely irrelevant, discussing the Indira Gandhi International Airport, a specific passenger's experience, and unrelated Wikipedia entries about the Seed Vault and the Collingswood Boys.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Collingswood Boys are four boys who were starved by their adoptive parents, Raymond and Vanessa Jackson, while living in Collingswood, New Jersey. The Jacksons were arrested in October 2003 and in…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collingswood_Boys

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or Tomb of Mausolus (Ancient Greek: Μαυσωλεῖον τῆς Ἁλικαρνασσοῦ; Turkish: Halikarnas Mozolesi) was a tomb built between 353 and 351 BC in Halicarnassus (present Bodrum, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum_at_Halicarnassus

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Svalbard Global Seed Vault (Norwegian: Svalbard globale frøhvelv) is a secure backup facility for the world's crop diversity on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen in the remote Arctic Svalbard ar…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard_Global_Seed_Vault

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 15: “Best (lowest percentage of cancellations): Allegiant, Hawaiian, Southwest”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 16: “year to date through April, we ranked fourth among major domestic carriers in completion factor”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 17: “2025 brought the worst nationwide on-time arrival rate since 2014”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence consists of general flight trackers, a Wikipedia page for the year 2025, and unrelated topics. There is no specific data regarding nationwide on-time arrival rates for 2025 or a comparison to 2014.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — 2025 (MMXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2025th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 25th year of the 3rd millennium and the 2…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Project 2025 (also known as the 2025 Presidential Transition Project) is a political initiative published in April 2023 by the Heritage Foundation with the goal of reshaping the U.S. federal governmen…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Housemaid is a 2025 American erotic psychological thriller film directed by Paul Feig and written by Rebecca Sonnenshine. It is based on the 2022 novel by Freida McFadden, and stars Sydney Sweeney…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Housemaid_(2025_film)

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 18: “Best (highest on-time percentage): Hawaiian, Delta, Southwest”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 19: “Colorado Springs’ on-time arrival rate was 73.1%”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found after searching for the on-time arrival rate of Colorado Springs airport.

schedule

Claim 20: “Worst (lowest on-time percentage): Frontier, JetBlue, American”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 21: “Airlines mishandled about 2.43 million bags last year”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 22: “Denver International Airport’s on-time arrival rate was 75.4%, below the national average of 76.3%”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provides general information about the city of Denver and its official website, but does not provide on-time arrival rates for Denver International Airport or the national average.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Denver (/ ˈdɛnvər / ⓘ DEN-vər) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Officially a consolidated city and county, it is located in the South Platte River valley on the wes…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denver

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Explore things to do, hotels, restaurants & more in Denver. Find all the info you need to start planning your trip or meeting. Download our Visitors Guide!
https://visitdenver.com/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 7, 2026 · The official website of the City and County of Denver. Report issues, chat with Sunny and get help with city services.
https://www.denvergov.org/Home

schedule

Claim 23: “the rate dropped from 0.55 per 100 checked bags in 2024 to 0.52 in 2025”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 24: “Best (lowest percentage mishandled): Delta, Allegiant, United”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.