Kalshi Files to Expand Flight Delay Contracts to All US Airports

Prediction market operator Kalshi has submitted a filing with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that would permit trading on event contracts tied to flight delays and cancellations at every airport in the United States. Currently, traders can only swap such contracts for a handful of specific airports, including New York’s John F. Kennedy International and Chicago O’Hare International.

The filing, designated “AirportDelay,” was submitted on July 14 and would base settlement criteria on data from global flight tracker FlightAware and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Contracts would reflect the percentage of cancelled or delayed flights relative to the total number of scheduled flights at a given airport.

Under the proposed expansion, users could also bet on thresholds such as whether more than half of an airport’s scheduled flights will be cancelled ahead of a major weather event like a blizzard. The move effectively turns a common travel frustration into a tradable outcome.

On social media, the filing prompted a wave of humorous speculation that Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents might intentionally create delays if they had placed personal wagers on specific flights. Separately, Kalshi remains in a regulatory dispute with the CFTC and Michigan authorities after the commission blocked an emergency rule change that would have allowed the operator to cancel trades in Michigan. Kalshi said it is reviewing the order and considering its next steps; the Michigan Gaming Control Board has not commented.