Flight cancellation and delay

One of the flights shown here is delayed

A flight delay is when an airline flight takes off and/or lands later than its scheduled time. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) considers a flight to be delayed when it is 15 minutes later than its scheduled time. A cancellation occurs when the airline does not operate the flight at all for a certain reason. When flights are canceled or delayed, passengers may be entitled to compensation due to rules obeyed by every flight company, usually Rule 240, or Rule 218 in certain locations. This rule usually specifies that passengers may be entitled to certain reimbursements, including a free room if the next flight is the day after the canceled one, a choice of reimbursement, rerouting, phone calls, and refreshments.

When a flight is delayed, the FAA allocates slots for takeoffs and landings based on which flight is scheduled first.^[1]

Causes

Since 2003, the United States Bureau of Transportation Statistics has been keeping track of the causes of flight delays.^[2]

Some of the causes of flight delays are as follows:

• Maintenance problems with the aircraft^[3]
• Fueling^[3]
• Extreme weather, such as tornado, hurricane, or blizzard^[3]
• Airline glitches. The top cause of flight delays, according to a USA TODAY analysis.^[4]
• Congestion in air traffic^[4]
• Late arrival of the aircraft to be used for the flight from a previous flight^[3]
• Security issues^[3]

The number of flight delays has increased as staff has been cut back as a result of the financial woes following the September 11 attacks.^[4]

Effects

Cost to airlines

In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration estimates that flight delays cost airlines $22 billion yearly.^[5] Airlines are forced to pay federal authorities when they hold planes on the tarmac for more than three hours for domestic flights or more than four hours for international flights.^[6]

Cost to passengers

Flight delays are an inconvenience to passengers. A delayed flight can be costly to passengers by making them late to their personal scheduled events. A passenger who is delayed on a multi-plane trip could miss a connecting flight. Anger and frustration can occur in delayed passengers.^[1]

In the United States, passengers are not entitled to compensation when a delay occurs, not even a cut of fees airlines must pay federal authorities for long delays. Airlines are required to pay for lodging costs of passengers if the delay or a cancellation is through their own fault, but not if the cause is beyond their control, such as weather.^[6]

Laws

In the United States, the Transportation Department imposes a fine of $27,500 per passenger for planes left on the tarmac for more than four hours without taking off.^[7]

European legislation (see Regulation 261/2004) states that flight delays for over three hours, cancellations and denied boarding entitles passengers to a compensation of up to €600 per passenger from the airline.^[8]

See also

• Regulation 261/2004
• FlyersRights.org

External links

• U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics information on flight delays

References