Airline Delays Continue Plaguing NYC Area Airports

In July, I wrote that media outlets could simply recycle their older stories about airline delays because the problems that existed before the 9/11 attacks sharply curtailed air traffic only delayed the inevitable limitations in the current air traffic infrastructure.

Well, it turns out that the worst air traffic delays in the country are at Newark Liberty International Airport. That shouldn't surprise anyone. Neither should it surprise anyone that other airports making the cut as airports with massive delays include LaGuardia and JFK.

Arriving flights into Newark Liberty International Airport were on time barely half the time through the first seven months of 2007, resulting in the worst performance of any major hub in the nation, according to government records released today.

Just 56.83 percent of planes landing at Newark Liberty were on time from January through July, U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics show. The metropolitan area's two other airports rounded out the nation's poorest on-time arrival records so far this year, with planes landing on time at LaGuardia 58.59 percent and those arriving on time at John F. Kennedy International 59.16 percent.

A plan to reroute flights into Newark that would free up additional airspace and reduce congestion is facing opposition from Rockland County residents claiming that the FAA plan would increase noise in their communities. The NIMBYism of that opposition is quite evident, and I have to wonder whether they're actually going to hear those planes overhead at all. The Rockland County Executive claims that it would raise the noise levels for 11,000 county residents.

I'm living in Bergen County near the flight path for both Newark and Teterboro, and I seldom hear flights bound for Newark and sometimes hear the planes for Teterboro since they're usually flying closer to the ground to avoid the Newark flight patterns. If the flights are above a certain height, I doubt it will increase noise levels at ground level.

This is a link to the flights into Newark Liberty (EWR) at any given time. Crank out the view to 80 miles, and then you can click on any of the planes to get exact details on flight path and altitude. Note that most of the airliners flying in Rockland airspace are above 10,000 feet. General aviation flights are usually below 10,000 feet.

The rerouting of flights into Newark would help reduce congestion at the airport and improve on time performance at area airports.