New York’s three metropolitan airports are among the nation’s worst for flight delays, a new survey shows.
In 1998, for the third year in a row, Newark International Airport won the dubious crown for having the most jet arrivals and departures that were at least 15 minutes late – 31,924.
La Guardia Airport ranked fifth with 24,689 delayed flights.
Kennedy International Airport had the fewest delays of the three – 12,962.
Still, JFK was the eighth “tardiest” of the 55 American airports ranked by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Aviation officials blamed inclement weather and heavy jet traffic in the skies of the metropolitan area for many of the delays.
“We have the most congested airspace in the country,” said FAA spokeswoman Arlene Salac, who pointed out that timely arrivals and departures are always placed second to safety concerns.
Newark airport is the region’s busiest, handling 461,910 flights last year, according to the FAA. That’s 100,000 more than handled by either Kennedy or La Guardia.
But the FAA and the Port Authority – which runs the three airports – said they are working with the airlines on ways to reduce flight delays without jeopardizing safety.
The FAA is looking at redesigning area flight paths to cut down on delays. Salac noted that some of the jet routes were implemented before a dramatic increase in air traffic at the airports – particularly Newark – and may be outdated.
But the proposed redesign won’t be completed until 2003.