Because it seems, the most important reason behind delayed flights and cancellations for the reason that starting of the COVID-19 pandemic is truly the airways themselves, in keeping with new knowledge from the Federal Aviation Administration. The info is an efficient strategy to contextualize rising rigidity between the FAA and the airline trade as an entire. It will also be checked out as a prelude to the finger pointing between the 2 entities we’re going to see this summer season.
So, what do the numbers inform us? Properly, proper off the bat we will see that flights have been delayed very frequently. Between January of 2019 and February of 2023, 1.6 million flights have been collectively delayed 5.3 million hours. That’s over 605 years price of delays that have been primarily brought on by points inside the airline’s management similar to upkeep and crew issues, plane cleansing and baggage loading, in keeping with the information.
FAA knowledge additionally reveals that 1.3 million flights — about 4.7 p.c of all flights throughout the time interval — have been delayed in January of 2023 when a difficulty inside the nationwide aviation system precipitated a severe laptop outage. It was a nightmare for everybody concerned.
We are able to additionally see {that a} whopping 1.5 million flights have been delayed by one other inbound plane arriving late, but it surely doesn’t clarify why these inbound flights have been delayed. If I used to be a betting man, I’d guess the blame lies someplace inside the airline.
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The wildest stat from the FAA’s data, though, is one that’ll annoy seasoned travelers. You know how your airline blamed a climate concern for a delay? Some fog, a little bit turbulence, or a rain bathe? Yeah, they have been nearly actually mendacity to you. FAA knowledge reveals that unhealthy climate solely accounted for 178,000 delays throughout the time interval. That works out to 0.65 p.c of flights and sure encompasses delays attributable to extreme winter climate.
When it comes to cancellations, over 776,000 flights bought the can. That works out to be 2.8 p.c of all flights. An additional 63,000 — or 0.2 p.c — have been diverted. We are able to’t make certain precisely why this stuff occurred, for the reason that FAA didn’t give that data.
I do know what you’re pondering. That’s a shit-ton of flights. There have to be extra planes within the air than ever. Properly, the excellent news is that it isn’t. Over the 50 months referenced within the research, 21.9 million flights — or 79.8 p.c — arrived on time. That’s truly proper in step with on-time arrival statistics from the earlier decade. So, flying does certainly suck, but it surely sucks simply as a lot because it at all times has. I suppose you may take some solace in that.