DOT Reports No Lengthy Tarmac Delays for September Flights
A report shows that no domestic flights were delayed on the tarmac for more than three hours in September.
According to airline reports, there were no delays on tarmacs for more than three hours domestically or four hours for international flights in the month of September.
The Department of Transporation's Air Travel Consumer Report is required to monitor the efficiency of both domestic and international flights. Through a rule that took effect in August 2011, all lengthy tarmac delays for airplanes with more than 30 passengers must be reported. In conjunction with this rule, foreign flights may not be delayed on tarmacs for more than 4 hours without passengers being offered an opportunity to leave the plane. Prior to this rule, a rule that domestic flights could not be delayed three hours without allowing passengers to deplane took effect in April 2011. While there are exceptions to these rules, they are mainly based on safety and security concerns.
In addition to these rules, the DOT report also contains information about timeliness of flights and percentage of cancelations. Flights this past September were on time 83.33 percent of the time. In August, flights arrived on time 79.1 percent of the time. September flights were canceled 0.8 percent, a figure lower than August's 1.3 percent.
Percentages on mishandled baggage, causes for flight delays, incidents with pet transportation, and more can be found on the department of transportation website.