Travel Tip: The Increasing Number of Flight Delays

If it seemed that your flights were delayed this summer, you were not alone.

Air traffic control delays in the U.S. are up substantially over last year. Not only is it because it has been one of the hottest summers on record (creating more weather incidents), but it’s also because more planes are in the air during peak times. This is especially true in the Northeast corridor between Boston, Washington D.C. and New York. And those delays–typically into and out of New York then quickly move west and south.

In Europe, data from Eurocontrol shows that in the first half of 2018, air traffic delays more than doubled to 47,000 minutes per day, 133% more than in the same period last year. The average delay for flights delayed by air traffic control limitations reached 20 minutes in July, and the longest delay reached 337 minutes.

So at least for the rest of this year, you might want to add about an hour to your flight time and even more important, if you’re changing flights, add 90 minutes between flights. So plan accordingly.