Status Report on Actions Underway to Address Flight Delays and Improve Airline Customer Service. Statement of The Honorable Calvin L. Scovel III Inspector General, U.S. Department of Transportation

摘要

As this Subcommittee is aware, summer 2007 was part of the worst year on record for flight delays, cancellations, and long, on-board delays. From January through December 2007, over 1 in 4 flights (29 percent) was delayed or cancelled, affecting about 163 million passengers. More than 88,234 flights experienced taxi-in and taxi-out times of 1 hour to 5 hours or longer, affecting nearly 5.9 million passengers. Our statement today is in response to the Chairman's request for an after-action analysis of (1) contributing factors to last summers record-breaking flight delays; (2) the status of ongoing efforts by DOT, the airlines, and airports to improve airline customer service in response to record delays and our recommendations last September; and (3) actions needed in the near- and mid-term to mitigate congestion and delays.