Flight delay performance at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

Grigoriy Yablonsky,Richard Steckel,Manoj Patankar,Damon Lercel,Denis Constales,John Farnan

doi:10.3926/jairm.22

Abstract

Purpose: The main objective of this paper is to determine the annual cyclical flight delays at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Then using other data such as annual precipitation, passenger and aircraft traffic volumes and other factors, we attempted to correlate these factors with overall delays. These data could assist airport management in predicting periods of flight delay. Design/methodology/approach: Data were taken and analyzed from the data base “Research and Innovation Technology Administration” (RITA) for the years 2005-2011 for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The data included 2.8 million flights originating and departing from this airport. Data were also gathered from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) showing precipitation. Additional data were gathered from the FAA regarding delay causes, number and types of delays and changes to the infrastructure of ATL airport Findings: There is a repeatable annual pattern of delays at ATL that can be modeled using delay data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. This pattern appears to be caused primarily by the frequency and amount of precipitation that falls at ATL and by the amount of flights that arrive and depart at ATL. Originality/value: This information could assist airport operations personnel, FAA air traffic controllers and airlines in anticipating and mitigating delays at specific times of the year.

Highlights

In June of 2010, Consumer Reports surveyed 2,000 air travellers and asked them to rate the 12 most annoying things about air travel on a scale of 1 to 10
Flight delays may be caused by such factors as weather, maintenance issues with the aircraft, the financial state of the air carrier, constraints of the airport infrastructure, the National Airspace System (NAS), Air Traffic Control (ATC), previous delays by other flights and aircraft, airport security or how the airlines schedule flights at a particular airport
Analysis of data obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) showed evidence of cyclical patterns of daily delay

Summary

Introduction

In June of 2010, Consumer Reports surveyed 2,000 air travellers and asked them to rate the 12 most annoying things about air travel on a scale of 1 (least annoying) to 10 (most annoying). Flight delays may be caused by such factors as weather, maintenance issues with the aircraft, the financial state of the air carrier, constraints of the airport infrastructure, the National Airspace System (NAS), Air Traffic Control (ATC), previous delays by other flights and aircraft, airport security or how the airlines schedule flights at a particular airport. Evidence suggests that these patterns of increased delay occur at specific times, days and months. This type of data analysis could assist in airports being able to predict increased times of delay and investigate these cyclical patterns to determine what causes these predictable patterns of delay. Potential contributors to the pattern of delay could be weather, airport capacity, airline flight scheduling or time of day, week or month. Diverted and cancelled flights were not considered since a cancelled flight never arrives at its destination and a diverted flight lands at another airport.

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