ABSTRACT
The 2000-2001 period illustrated both the worst of times and the best of times for the air traffic control system, at least in North America. These were the worst of times because of the growing problem of delays in the air transportation system. In the first nine months of 2000, fully one quarter of all passenger airline flights in the United States, affecting 119 million passengers were either delayed, canceled, or diverted. The average delay for these flights exceeded 50 minutes. The media reported at the time that airline service had become so unpredictable that some business travelers were flying to their destinations the night before important meetings rather than in the morning so as to be sure not to miss them. Complaints about air travel were up 16 percent in 2000 over the previous year.
