Dealing With Delays
By Amy Ziff, Editor-at-Large
April 28, 2004
Want an air travel prediction for this summer? Wait. Literally: If you’re flying, you’re probably going to wait--in the airport, on a runway, somewhere--because of air traffic control delays. Don’t take my word for it, take the Federal Aviation Administration’s. They are the folks in charge of air traffic control, and according to them, the summer could get sticky.
So what’s the problem? Remember three years ago, when everybody was frustrated with the gridlock in the aviation system? Get ready for déjà vu. September 11th, and the associated downturn in air traffic, resulted in time for the country to get its house in order. Now that air traffic has rebounded, we’ll find out this summer how well that time was spent.
Making matters worse, of course, will be the usual panoply of summer weather events. Thunderstorms, hurricanes, and tornadoes--this year we even have locusts. All of this takes a toll on you, and on the FAA, which manages about 140,000 take-offs and landings every day. And the beauty of commercial aviation is that a problem in Chicago, for example, can mess up your trip, even if you’re not going anywhere near the Windy City.
Delays often cascade like dominoes throughout the entire national airspace system. Behind the scenes, the FAA has instituted new procedures to ease congestion, which include express runways to abate gridlock at high-traffic airports, increased coordination among airports to ease delays into the most congested ones, and a reduction of the required vertical separation minimum for planes at high altitudes. (If this doesn't mean all that much that's ok. These are things you won't really "see.")
Now for the part you will see: You may find yourself on a plane this summer and notice that you circle before landing or that you sit on the tarmac to allow other planes to pass–all will be part of the shuffling of planes in the name of efficiency.
However, there are things you can do to ease your wait time. The concept here is simple: an informed flier can be a happy, delayed flier. The FAA wants you to be prepared, and so do I. There's nothing worse than sitting on the tarmac, in the airport, or in air without what you need. Travelers should take extra work, plenty of reading, a snack, and additional medication in case you need it. Try to avoid scheduling meetings tightly around your arrival time. Bring a list of emergency phone numbers with you, and make sure your cell phone and computer are fully charged. If you can, avoid traveling at peak times when airports tend to be most crowded.
Hopefully you'll be one of the fliers that breezes through without any delays. But at least if you do encounter delays, you’ll have all you need to cope. As I find myself saying on the road, hope for the best, but expect the worst.
For more travel tips and advice, check out Amy Ziff's blog, The Window Seat, or her monthly column, Travel Trends & Advice from A to Z. To suggest a topic for a future column or to tell about a travel experience of your own, please email Amy Ziff at ask.amy@travelocity.com.
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