FAA: June Worst Travel Month in History
Critics blame the airlines and air traffic control for increased flight delays.
July 17, 2007 — -- Airline passengers across the country are experiencing flight delays, according to a Federal Aviation Administration report released Monday night.
Taxiways clogged with dozens of planes, flights canceled by severe weather and terminals turned into public dormitories made June the worst travel month in history.
The report said canceled flights last month more than doubled from the previous year as 20,301 flights never got off the ground. The number of takeoffs or arrivals also soared in June, and more than 30 percent of all June flights arrived late by an average of one hour.
Some blame the problem on an outdated air traffic control system, which critics believe cannot handle the explosion in flights.
Others claim the airlines are to blame for increasing their fleets with smaller planes that flood key airports with more traffic.
"Consumers are fed up now and the airline industry is taking the heat," said aviation analyst Mike Boyd of the Boyd Group. "They're taking the heat because they never pressured the FAA to fix the system."
American Airlines was the carrier with the most delays. Only 58 percent of its U.S. arrivals were on time in June.