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NEWS ABOUT: airline delays

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Airline Hit With $900K Fine for Tarmac Waits

American Eagle first to be fined under new policy

(Newser) - American Eagle Airlines has been hit with the first fine issued under new rules prohibiting airlines from keeping passengers stuck in planes on the tarmac for more than three hours. The regional carrier was fined $900,000 for keeping a total 608 passengers on board 15 different flights on the... More »

United Computers Crash, Strand Thousands

Airline blames 'network connectivity'

(AP) - United Airlines said Saturday that a computer glitch that grounded flights nationwide and left some passengers stranded overnight had been fixed. The airline blamed the problem on "a network connectivity issue" and said it was in the process of resuming normal operations. But the airline also indicated passengers may... More »

Most Delayed Flights Come From New York

Forty-one of top 50 start or end at LaGuardia, JFK, or Newark

(Newser) - A whopping 41 of the 50 most chronically delayed flights in the nation start or end at one of New York City’s three airports, according to data compiled from Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Though New York flights make up only about 12% of air traffic, they account for almost... More »

Hellish Flight Takes 16 Hours From LAX to JFK

Passengers forced to take bus for last two hours

(Newser) - Flights don’t get much worse than Virgin America Flight 404, which took 16 long hours to get from LAX to JFK. The plane was supposed to land in New York at 3:30pm, but high winds forced it to circle for hours. Finally it landed in Newburgh, 90 miles... More »

White House Sets 3-Hour Limit on Tarmac Waits

Passengers must be allowed to deplane under new regulation

(AP) - The Transportation Department is ordering airlines to let passengers stuck in stranded airplanes to deplane after three hours. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the new three-hour limit today, along with other new passenger protections long sought by consumer advocates. From January to June this year, 613 planes were delayed on... More »

FAA Says Airport Computer Glitch Fixed

System broke down in both Atlanta and Salt Lake City

(AP) - FAA officials say failed computers that delayed flights across the country are now working again. The air traffic controllers union says the computer failure involved both of the Federal Aviation Administration's computer centers in Salt Lake City and Atlanta, which handle flight plans for air traffic throughout the country. More »

Computer Glitch Causes Nationwide Flight Delays

Planes in the air not affected

(AP) - A problem with the FAA system that collects airlines' flight plans has caused widespread flight cancellations and delays across the US today. An FAA spokeswoman says she doesn't know how many flights are being affected or when the problem will be resolved, but the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's... More »

White House Probes Minn. Plane Stranding

Incident 'troubling': transportation sec.

(Newser) - The Obama administration is investigating last weekend’s 9-hour stranding of 47 passengers on a Minnesota airport tarmac, the AP reports. Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood says his department's general counsel is determining whether laws were broken in the case. “While we don't yet have all the facts, this incident... More »

47 Trapped on 9-Hour 'Nightmare' Flight

(Newser) - If 9 hours on a grounded puddle-jumper with screaming babies and the scent of overly busy toilets wafting through cramped aisles sounds like your idea of a good time, then Continental Airlines had your ticket to paradise. When storms forced a Minneapolis-bound flight to divert to Rochester, Minn., on Friday,... More »

Flight Delays Decline Ahead of Holidays

Feds' new rules, fewer planes in air keep travelers moving

(Newser) - While flights will be packed during the Thanksgiving travel week, travelers can at least look forward to fewer delays, USA Today reports. Delays have plummeted this fall amid troubled airlines’ reduced flight schedules and government measures to reduce New York air traffic. In early September, flights were over 15 minutes... More »

Sleepy Pilots Want Trimmed Schedules

Penny-pinching means more flying, on FAA rules dating from '60s

(Newser) - Airline pilots are seeing their flying hours approach the federally mandated limit, and many of them have had enough, the Wall Street Journal reports. Safety experts agree that the current regulations, in place since the 1960s, don't reflect current knowledge about the dangers of fatigue. But penny-pinching airlines keep pushing... More »

FAA Delays: Same Problem, No Solutions

Agency learned little—if that—from previous, too-similar failures

(Newser) - A software glitch that left thousands of passengers delayed or stranded at US airports yesterday is becoming a familiar problem with the Federal Aviation Administration, Kevin Kelleher writes in Portfolio. Pretty much the same thing—a cascade of overloaded servers—happened last week, and last year. "With 20-20 hindsight,... More »

FAA Glitch Causes Widespread Flight Delays

(Newser) - A computer glitch in an FAA computer system caused flight delays around the country today, the Wall Street Journal reports. The situation appeared to be easing this evening as airports—Atlanta, Chicago, and Boston were hardest hit—got back on track. The snag hit one of two FAA facilities that... More »

Airport Overnights Take Off as Hotel Vouchers Vanish

Hotel vouchers have been lost in transit

(Newser) - Stranded passengers are finding ways to settle in for the night at airport terminals as hotel vouchers become a thing of the past in the cash-strapped airline business, the New York Times reports. Frequent fliers advise terminal sleepers to bring something soft to sleep on and to stock up on... More »

Will Fewer Flights Mean Fewer Delays?

Sorry, says FAA: don't expect airlines to cut on crowded routes

(Newser) - With fuel prices soaring into the skies, fewer airplanes will be following suit, but don't think that translates to less time on the tarmac. Airlines' cutbacks will ground planes, but mostly on less-traveled routes to smaller cities, the New York Times reports. The congestion at LAX and JFK isn't likely... More »

AA Should Bag Boneheaded Luggage Fee

Or face more delays, lost baggage, and longer security lines

(Newser) - American Airlines’ plan to charge passengers $15 to check a bag is likely to cost the carrier more money than it generates, Joe Brancatelli argues in Portfolio. “Not only will it infuriate flyers—who are already annoyed with American’s lousy operating efficiency and its recent maintenance snafus—it’... More »

Man Sues Delta for Ruined Vacation

Delays, lost luggage, rude staff spoiled mom's 80th birthday

(Newser) - A furious lawyer is suing Delta airlines for $1 million for turning a dream trip to Argentina for his mother's 80th birthday into a nightmare, Reuters reports. "Obnoxious and incompetent" airline staff refused to allow the man and his family onto a connecting flight from Atlanta, so it took... More »

Plane Trips Grow Longer

Carriers add up to 50% to flight times as congestion adds to ground, air delays

(Newser) - Air travel is the slowest it's been in the past 20 years, thanks to increased congestion both on the runway and in the air. A flight from Las Vegas to New York took 4 hours, 37 minutes in 1988, but that same route now requires over 6 hours, reports USA ... More »

Bumped From Your Flight? Airline Could Owe You $800

Feds double amount passengers can receive over overbooked planes

(Newser) - Passengers who get bumped off overbooked flights will be eligible for up to $800 for their inconvenience, the Los Angeles Times reports. The US Department of Transportation today doubled the amount passengers can receive, with the exact figure depending upon the ticket price and how long it takes passengers to... More »

Tips for Grumpy Fliers

There are some things passengers can do to take control of their airport fates

(Newser) - With customer complaints up 60% and operational performance at an all-time low, it's not a good time for the airline industry—or its passengers. CNN offers these tips to fractious fliers:
  1. Research, research, research: Check out airline performance at FlightStats.com or FlightAware.com before buying your ticket, book a
... More »

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