Ahead of the busy holiday season, Houstonians should budget extra time into their travel plans before flying out of the metro's bustling George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

IAH was just declared the 10th worst airport in the nation for flight disruptions by consumer review platform ConsumerAffairs, which analyzed the rates of moderate and severe delays, diversions, and cancellations at the 29 biggest U.S. airports. IAH also appeared as the 10th worst airport where holiday travel causes the biggest disruptions.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia led the nation as the No. 1 worst airport overall.

The report revealed IAH's biggest issue is its high volume of flight cancellations, rather than delays. IAH has the 7th highest rate of flight cancellations nationally, though the airport's cancellation rate is just 1.8 percent. A silver lining for some travelers is that less than a quarter (24.22 percent) of all cancellations were the last flight of the day to that destination. The average number of same-day flights to the same destination at IAH is 3.69, so there's a high chance travelers will get re-booked on a same-day flight after a cancellation.

Fortunately, the rate of delays at IAH is lower than most other airports, according to the study. IAH has the 10th lowest moderate delay rate out of all the airports examined with nearly 20 percent of flights delayed by 15 minutes and up to three hours. About two percent of all flights are delayed by more than three hours, making IAH the 12th worst airport for severe delays.

• No. 1 – Ronald Reagan Washington National
• No. 2 – Dallas Fort Worth International
• No. 3 – Newark Liberty International
• No. 4 – Miami International
• No. 5 – Philadelphia International
• No. 6 – Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International
• No. 7 – LaGuardia
• No. 8 – Tampa International
• No. 9 – Washington Dulles International
• No. 10 – George Bush Intercontinental

Surprisingly, Los Angeles International Airport landed as the best major U.S. airport for avoiding travel disruptions. Phoenix Sky Harbor International (No. 2) and Seattle-Tacoma International (No. 3) round out the top three best airports for on-time travel.

In ConsumerAffairs' separate list of the worst medium-sized airports, William P. Hobby landed as the 18th worst out of 32 U.S. airports. About 19 percent of all flights at HOU experience moderate delays — the 5th highest rate in this category — and only one percent are severely delayed.

Pack your patience during the holidays
Flying from IAH may be more stressful during the holidays, as 22.5 percent of flights will suffer from disruptions during the Thanksgiving and winter holiday travel periods — starting the Tuesday before Thanksgiving through the Monday after, and again from December 18 to January 5.

IAH has the fourth lowest holiday disruption rate out of the biggest airports, and the 11th highest holiday severe delay rate. Put some padding on your itinerary, because two percent of all flights will be delayed more than three hours during the holidays

Additionally, 22.3 percent of all HOU flights will be disrupted during the holiday travel season, and 1.5 percent of flights will experience severe delays.

The report offers the following suggestions to help anxious travelers avoid flight disruptions: look into travel insurance to protect against delays or cancellations; look for nonstop flights; or book flights with earlier departure times on an airline with multiple departures to your destination.

For flights that do get delayed or cancelled, travelers need to "act fast" to rectify their situation, says Jennifer Rykaczewski, the CEO of nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Affordable Skies.

"In the first 10 minutes, open the airline app, see whether you have already been rebooked and search for acceptable alternatives," Rykaczewski said. "Throughout the process, save any documentation of the delay or cancellation, plus receipts for meals or hotels, in case you need it for an insurance claim later."