40 of 100 most delayed flights at Newark

Posted 16/08/2011

Of the 100 most-delayed flights over the past year, 40 come and go from Newark Liberty International Airport  a key gateway to New York City, The Wall Street Journal reported .

Flights to and from the New Jersey airport consistently run late, even though airlines pad schedules with hours of extra time, according to data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).

The two most chronically delayed flights of the year were both Delta Air Lines departures from Newark to Atlanta, one at 5:00 p.m. and the other at 6:25 p.m., says the BTS

Both flights out of Newark have to fly through heavily congested airspace in the Washington area, Delta said. In that area, much of the traffic headed into and out of the Northeast meshes together.

"It's a systematic issue with Newark in the afternoon and evening," said Dave Holtz, Delta's managing director of operations.

According to BTS, airlines cannot blame the delays on the weather.

Overall, the percentage of flights arriving on time was 76.6 percent this year through May, the worst in the past three years for the same time period.

By David Wilkening

 

Originally published 16 Aug 2011 at: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/398/f/5923/s/176714ae/l/0L0Stravelmole0N0Cstories0C11489640Bphp0Dmpnlog0F1/story01.htm