FAA offers wireless access to airport delay data

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Next time you want to make sure your flight won't be delayed, check your e-mail.

Travelers with pagers, cell phones or personal digital assistants can now get real-time airport information from a free e-mail service provided by the Federal Aviation Administration.

"This technology brings travelers the latest airport status information in real time, as it happens," FAA Administrator Jane F. Garvey said in a statement.

Airport operations information has been available for more than a year at the Web site www.fly.faa.gov, but the coverage was expanded last month from 39 airports to 298. The new Aviation Information System reaches people who don't have access to a computer, too.

"You can be notified when any of these delays occur," FAA spokesman Fraser Jones said.

To participate, travelers go to the Web site (Air Traffic Control System Command Center), submit their e-mail address and password, choose their airports and select the preferred format for their device. They can easily add or delete airports at any time.

A sample message would show the airport affected by a ground delay; the reason (wind, for example); the average delay time for arriving flights; and the maximum possible delay time.

But the FAA throws in a caveat: The timeliness of the delay messages depends on the promptness of your e-mail service provider.

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Federal Aviation Administration

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