Airlines reported only one tarmac delay of more than three hours on domestic flights and one tarmac delay of more than four hours on international flights in November, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report.
The two long tarmac delays took place on Nov. 30 and involved flights bound for Los Angeles International Airport. Due to severe storms in the Los Angeles area that day, the flights were diverted from Los Angeles International Airport. Both reported tarmac delays are under investigation by the Department.
The larger U.S. airlines have been required to report long tarmac delays on their domestic flights since October 2008. Under a new rule that took effect Aug. 23, 2011, all U.S. and foreign airlines operating at least one aircraft with 30 or more passenger seats must report lengthy tarmac delays at U.S. airports.
Also beginning Aug. 23, carriers operating international flights may not allow tarmac delays at U.S. airports to last longer than four hours. There is a separate three-hour limit on tarmac delays involving domestic flights, which went into effect in April 2010.
Exceptions to the time limits for both domestic and international flights are allowed only for safety, security or air traffic control-related reasons.
On-Time Performance
The 16 carriers reporting on-time performance recorded an overall on-time arrival rate of 85.3 percent in November, up from the 83.2 percent on-time rate of November 2010 but down slightly from October 2011’s 85.5 percent rate.
Cancellations
During November, the carriers canceled 0.7 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, equal to November 2010’s 0.7 percent cancellation rate and down from October 2011’s 0.8 percent.
Chronically Delayed Flights
At the end of November, there was one flight that was chronically delayed – more than 30 minutes late more than 50 percent of the time – for two consecutive months. No flights were chronically delayed for three consecutive months or more.
