Sitting on the Runway: Current Aircraft Taxi Times Now Exceed Pre-9/11 Experience; Special rept

摘要

Several high profile incidents have focused attention on tarmac delays that resulted in air travelers spending long periods of time aboard aircraft waiting to either take off or move to a gate after landing. Taxi-time data collected by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) for the year 2007 shows: Both outbound and inbound taxi times increased noticeably in 2007 and surpassed the previous peak reached in 2000. 93 percent of flights left the ground within 30 minutes of gate departure, compared to 96 percent in 1995. Extended taxi times in excess of 2 hours, which occur infrequently, increased in recent years but have not reached the levels experienced in the 1999 to 2000 period. The longest taxi-out times occurred during the summer. Although flight volumes impact taxiing times, other factors also come into play.