ABSTRACT
Airports play a key role in the commercial aviation system by allowing airlines and their customers to converge. However, since the early 1970s, the peaking of traffic at airports has been a problem of increasing concern to airport operators around the world. Though the systems put in place by airports today are extensive and highly developed, the busiest airports still face the problems of congestion and delay. Facilities at most airports are not adequate enough to accommodate demand at all times and in all conditions of weather and visibility. The resulting delays lead to inefficiency and increased expenses to airlines, inconvenience and opportunity costs for passengers, and increased workload for the FAA air traffic control system. In fact, a lack of airport capacity has been forecast by the FAA to be one of the most serious constraints to the growth of commercial and private aviation (Wells 2000). Table 17.1 shows the percentage of on-time arrivals at major airports in the United States during 2008. Percentage of on-time arrivals at major airports in the US during 2008 https://www.niso.org/standards/z39-96/ns/oasis-exchange/table">
Airport identifier
Airport
On-time arrival
ATL
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
75.52%
BOS
Boston's Logan International Airport
73.36%
BWI
Baltimore Washington International Airport
80.31%
DEN
Denver International Airport
78.34%
DFW
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
76.16%
LAS
McCarran International Airport
77.76%
LAX
Los Angeles International Airport
76.89%
LGA
LaGuardia Airport
62.80%
MCO
Orlando International Airport
77.81%
MDW
Chicago Midway Airport
80.68%
Source: Federal Aviation Administration.