Brookings Institution report: Expect flight delays

A Brookings Institution report indicates that flight delays are more common today than they were in 1990. New York cited as worst, Salt Lake City as best. Moreover, economic recovery means "more delays."

A Brookings Institution report released on Oct. 8 indicates that "lengthy airline delays are twice as common today as in 1990" according to the Associated Press. Moreover, delays are expected to worsen as the economy recovers. Data from the Brookings report show that "10.1 percent of all flights now arrive at least two hours late, up from 4.3 percent in 1990. The average delay is nearly an hour, up from 41 minutes in 1990." Adie Tomer, a co-author of the Brookings report, told the AP:

On-time performance has improved lately because airlines have cut flights during the recession. But as the economy recovers, so will air travel — meaning more delays.

The New York metro area is worst in terms of late flights, with 30 percent of arrivals and 22 percent of departures being late. In addition, the findings indicate that delays are concentrated in 26 cities including Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and Atlanta. Some airport officials dispute the Brookings Institution report. For example, Diane Johnston, the marketing director for Augusta Regional Airport near Atlanta, told the Augusta Chronicle:

Augusta is not responsible for a jet leaving late from Atlanta or Charlotte. Atlanta gets backed up because they've got traffic coming in from all over the world... If Atlanta starts getting behind, you can guarantee that we're going to be behind in our Atlanta flights.

Brookins researchers note that the problem is due to "ill-equippped" air traffic control systems, heavy concentrations of short trips between big cities, and other factors. According to the AP, the Brookings Institution indicated that, for large cities, the best on-time performance can be found in Salt Lake City, Honolulu and San Jose, Calif. The Augusta Chronicle notes that the FAA does not consider a flight late until it is 15 minutes late in departing or landings. Moreover, the paper states that "The Brookings report is a first-of-its-kind analysis of air travel among metro areas -- as opposed to individual airports -- that charts where and how often people are flying and whether flights take off and land on time."