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The Truth About Delays |
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Unfortunately, our air transportation infrastructure has become increasingly strained leading to record numbers of delayed flights. The year 2000 was, at the time, regarded as one of the worst years ever for delays. But with more and more congestion in America's crowded skies, and the FAA providing fewer and fewer controllers to manage traffic, delays are actually getting worse by the year. Often, delays are caused by weather, airline over-scheduling, runway closures, and equipment failures. But, when the system becomes saturated, which it does quite often now, the FAA restricts the flow of traffic and controllers make sure each flight is handled safely. The following chart illustrates causes for delay among the nation's top 10 airports.* The largest percentage, 47%, coming from the "national aviation system," reflects those delays attributable to constraints on the system. Some of the constraints are physical, like airport capacity, but often, inadequate staffing limits the FAA's ability to accommodate the demand. Causes of Delays
*Delay information obtained at https://airconsumer.pst.dot.gov for April 2006 – Reflects causes of delays into the most delayed arrivals airports of ATL, BOS, EWR, IAH, JFK, DCA, LGA, ORD, PHL, and SFO |
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