Tarmac delays continue to decrease
November 10, 2010, 04:17 pm
Tarmac delays can put a damper on a pilot's and his or her passengers' day. Earlier this year, newly established regulations would impose hefty fines on airlines who leave passengers on the tarmac for over three hours.
Recent data from the U.S. Department of Transportation says delays of more than three hours have been decreasing. In September there were four tarmac-delayed flights, in comparison to six reported during the same month last year.
While the number of tarmac-delayed flights has decreased, the number of flight cancellations has increased. In September of 2009, 0.6 percent of flights were canceled, whereas 0.9 percent of flights were during the same month of this year. The Dallas News reports that the increase translates to an additional 66 to 67 canceled flights per day.
There are a number of reasons why flights were delayed. Some of the most common causes are problems with aviation systems, late-arriving aircraft and weather. Furthermore, there was only one flight reported in September as being chronically delayed. A flight is categorized as chronically delayed if it's more than a half hour late 50 percent of the time.
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