ATC Delays Rise Significantly

<B> ATC Delays Rise Significantly</B>

By Barbara Cook

<I>Washington</I> - Record air traffic control problems dominated summer travel, with flight delays up 76 percent in July 1999 over the same month in 1998, according to a new study recently released by the Air Transport Association.

Testifying for the airlines about the "most delay-plagued season in history," ATA president Carol Hallett said, "Without immediate and extensive overhaul of the air traffic control system, more delays--and inevitable systemwide gridlock--are on the way." Already, she said, the number of aircraft delayed daily is resulting in "mounting discontent for airlines and their passengers."

The ATA study, based on data from the Federal Aviation Administration, concluded that, "the dramatic rise in delays is caused by an inefficient and outdated air traffic control system, coupled with inadequate management of that system by the federal government." The cost of these delays was $2.9 billion in 1998 and that total is expected to be up by nearly 10 percent this year, the ATA said.

The worst spots for backups in the system last summer were recorded at Dallas/Fort Worth, with delays up 93 percent; Chicago O'Hare, with delays up 86 percent; and Detroit Metro, with delays up 160 percent. The top eight airports in terms of delays, in addition to the aforementioned, were Minneapolis/St. Paul, Washington Dulles, Cincinnati, New York LaGuardia and Philadelphia, the ATA said. More than 100,000 passengers systemwide were delayed daily due to ATC problems during the summer, the ATA found.

Although FAA frequently blames bad weather for the delays, the agency doesn't focus on the real issue, the ATA claimed, which is management of how bad weather affects the system. Through the proper use of weather forecasts and appropriate FAA decisions, the number of weather-related delays could be reduced dramatically, the study said.

According to government and industry estimates, the number of passengers will rise by 43 percent through 2008 and an additional 2,500 aircraft will take to the skies, the ATA said. "If the air traffic control system is not fixed, this additional traffic would result in a 250 percent rise in delays."

The airlines called for the government to step up the pace of air traffic control modernization, saying the industry needs "an ATC system that operates at 100 percent efficiency, 100 percent of the time."

FAA administrator Jane Garvey said her agency "is willing to do whatever is within our power to improve the efficiency of the air traffic system, so long as safety is not compromised." She said her agency is in the midst of a major ATC modernization program, but cautioned that "delays will never be eliminated."

One new contributor to the delay situation, Garvey said, is the increased introduction of the highly popular regional jets, which require a longer distance to stop and are slower on take off than some other types of aircraft. This has the effect of reducing controller options, especially during peak periods, she said.

But Garvey acknowledged that during the past summer, airline delays increased dramatically in part due to the agency's transition to Display System Replacement equipment that will better display air traffic control information. During the installation phase, some ATC operations were slowed to allow controllers at FAA's en route centers to become used to the new equipment.

Garvey also noted that new operating procedures recently were put in place by FAA, in response to airline requests for streamlined ATC management. One of these changes is the decision to share with key airline officials the agency's ATC daily report that contains statistical information on delays and factors affecting system efficiency.

Capt. Duane Woerth, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, said that one major contributor to the delay problem is the way airlines schedule flights. "We have possibly created a false level of expectation in the flying public by promising that people can fly where they want to, when they want to," he said. "To satisfy this demand, we have created a schedule allowing more aircraft into the environment than the system can efficiently handle, even on the best of days. So whenever an uncontrollable event like bad weather occurs, the system collapses from its own weight."

Woerth also pointed to a critical need for more runways and other infrastructure at U.S. airports. "It serves no constructive purpose to put more airplanes in less airspace if we don't have anywhere to put them after they land," he said. He encouraged lawmakers to ensure that the aviation trust fund, which is financed in part by airline ticket taxes, is fully spent on system infrastructure. "It's not sufficient to just have the money," he said. "You have to actually spend it. And not just little bits of it, parceled out piecemeal through the government's annual budgeting process."

Randy Schwitz, executive vice president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, also pointed to "airline-induced delays," claiming that "to maximize profits, airlines are intentionally overloading the system." Even if controllers had the most up-to-date equipment, ATC delays would not be eliminated, he said. "Controllers would simply be able to keep better track of the planes.