ATLANTA-
Just months after opening a fifth runway meant to reduce delays, the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and three airlines there ranked among the worst for on-time performance in September.
The latest U.S. Department of Transportation monthly report, issued this week, shows the airport’s three largest airlines–Delta, AirTran and Atlantic Southeast–at or near the bottom of the industry for on-time performance. And the airport itself also was in last place out of 31 major airports.
Airport and airline officials blame a repaving project that started in early September and put a runway out of service.
“We saw a tremendous relief then when the (fifth) runway opened. Planes were no longer circling,” AirTran Vice President Tad Hutcheson said.
But the airport needed to repave the other runway sometime, he said, and September is usually a light travel month with dry weather. “Now, we’re suffering,” he said.
But the repaved runway is expected to reopen next week, so the trend may improve in time for Thanksgiving travel.
Airport General Manager Ben DeCosta said no more repaving projects are expected for another decade. Things should be much better once all five runways are open and airlines adjust, he said.
“The fifth runway has been a success,” DeCosta said.
However, Transportation Department reports show the airport’s on-time arrivals rate trended downward before the repaving started.
Government and airline officials also blame bad weather and the fact that more airplanes are using the airport.
Another factor, Transportation Department statistics suggest, has been poor on-time performance in recent months by Atlantic Southeast Airlines, a regional feeder for Delta Air Lines. Atlantic Southeast had the lowest on-time record in September out of 20 airlines ranked, with only 55.5 percent of its flights arriving on time–an unusually low figure for an airline in any month.
It was the fourth month in a row that Atlantic Southeast has been at the bottom and the third straight in which fewer than 60 percent of its flights were on time, according to the Transportation Department.
Delta Air Lines was 18th out of 20 airlines for September, with an on-time rate of 68.6 percent. But that’s a drop from earlier in the summer. Delta ranked 10th in August and seventh in July.
AirTran Airways ranked 17th in September, at 70.8 percent, after being 16th in August and eighth in July.
At the other end of the scale was Hawaiian Airlines, with an industry-leading 96 percent on-time rate for the month. The average for all 20 airlines was 76.2 percent.
The Transportation Department report defines a flight as on time if it arrives within 15 minutes of its scheduled time.
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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
