The largest US airlines reported no flights in October with tarmac delays of more than three hours, according to official figures from the US Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report. This is a marked increase from October where 11 flights reported over three hour delays. This is the first month there were no tarmac delays of more than three hours by the reporting carriers since the Department began collecting more comprehensive tarmac delay data in October 2008.
Data filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) showed there have been only 12 total tarmac delays of more than three hours reported from May through October this year by the 18 airlines that file on-time performance data with DOT, compared to 546 during the same five-month period of 2009. October was the sixth full month of data since the new aviation consumer rule went into effect on April 29.