FAA expects fewer flight delays this summer

From Patty Davis
CNN Washington Bureau

HERNDON, Virginia (CNN) -- FAA Administrator Jane Garvey says she anticipates fewer airline delays this year as the busy summer travel season gets under way.

"We are cautiously optimistic about this summer season," she said at a news conference Thursday at the Federal Aviation Administration command center. "We think we've taken a number of steps to help minimize the disruptions and minimize delays."

Garvey said those steps helped bring 15 percent fewer delays in April, but that weather remains a wild card for the summer months.

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The summer of 2000 was the worst summer on record for delays, largely because of bad weather, which is blamed on two-thirds of all delays.

"If we have another 21 days of thunderstorms out of 30 days in June, everybody will be inconvenienced no matter what the FAA does," she said.

Thunderstorms also could cause problems this weekend, she said.

New measures have helped

The FAA and airlines now talk every two hours to better track weather and manage air traffic, Garvey said, noting there has been much greater participation by airlines recently.

Other steps include new procedures at New York airports; the addition of more sectors or lanes in the sky to relieve choke points between Chicago, Washington and Boston; and adjusting routes to allow a higher volume of air traffic.

"We've seen some reduction in delays," she said.

Also, Canada has agreed to allow planes to use Canadian air space when there's bad weather, she said.

Runway construction crucial

But earlier Thursday, Garvey told a House panel that runway construction is crucial for reducing delays in the longer term.

While technology can boost airport capacity up to 10 percent, new runways can improve it up to 40 percent.

She said the FAA is streamlining the environmental process for approval of new runways.

Garvey advised people traveling by air this holiday weekend to log onto www.faa.com to check for delays, and to get to the airport well ahead of time.