New York – There were 33 planes stuck on the ground for more than three hours in October, the most in a single month since a rule intended to limit long delays took effect last April.
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The government said Monday that every one of the extended delays occurred on Oct. 29, when an early snow storm hit the Northeast. Seven of the flights were domestic, while 26 were international. October is the second month in which international flights were included in the tally.
Most of the flights were headed to either New York’s JFK or Newark airports before being diverted to Bradley International Airport in Hartford, Conn. The planes were forced to divert because bad weather and equipment problems prevented them from landing at New York area airports.
The longest delay was a JetBlue flight from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. That was supposed to land in Newark N.J., but was diverted to Bradley and spent nearly 8 hours on the ground. The captain of that flight, number 504, begged for help to get his plane to a gate, saying passengers were becoming unruly and he had paraplegic and diabetic passengers who needed to get off.
Within a week after the incident, the FAA will begin holding conference calls with national and regional airports to discuss problems in the flow of air traffic. The head of the FAA said that much of the day’s chaos could have been avoided through better communication between airlines, airports and air traffic controllers.
Cancellations overall were down in October, and a greater percentage of flights arrived on time.
Let me get this straight: the incidents occurred “on October 29, when an early snow storm hit the Northeast”. This report and announcement is published today, and today’s date is December 12.
So how can it be that: “within a week after the incident, the FAA will begin holding conference calls with national and regional airports to discuss problems in the flow of air traffic”? Six weeks have ALREADY elapsed!