"Chicago airports' on-time records slump"

Friday, December 3, 2004

Chicago airports' on-time records slump
The Chicago (IL) Tribune


The number of on-time flights is declining again at both Chicago airports,
although fewer air-traffic errors have occurred this year at a busy FAA
radar facility where tensions are high between management and the
controllers over staffing levels.

After on-time arrivals and departures improved in September, delays
increased in October at O'Hare International and Midway Airports, according
to data released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Four out of five flights arrived on time in October at O'Hare, putting it in
19th place for on-time performance among the nation's 31 busiest airports,
according to a report by the department's Bureau of Transportation
Statistics.

October's 82 percent on-time arrival rate at O'Hare compared with 90 percent
in September, ranking O'Hare fourth in on-time arrivals for that month, and
84 percent in October 2003, the report said. Still, the rate of flights
arriving on time was higher than the 75 percent posted in August.

"September was an absolutely beautiful month as far as weather was
concerned. We started to see true fall weather in October and the numbers
reflect that," said Mary Frances Fagan, spokeswoman for American Airlines at
O'Hare.

On the departure side, 83 percent of O'Hare flights left on time in October,
putting the airport in 24th place of 31 airports. Eighty-eight percent of
departures operated on time in September (10th place), and 86 percent in
October 2003.

At Midway, 86 percent of arrivals were on time in October, placing the
Southwest Side airport in ninth place, the report said. The results were
down slightly from 88 percent in September and 88 percent in October 2003,
the report said.

In October, 83 percent (23rd place) of Midway departures were on time,
compared with 87 percent (15th place) in September and 87 percent in October
2003, according to the data.

Meanwhile, the FAA reported 12 air-traffic control errors this year through
November -- compared with a record 24 in all of 2003 -- at the radar
facility in Elgin that directs aircraft at area airports.

None of the errors created an immediate hazard. They involved slight losses
in the miles of spacing required between airplanes flying at low altitudes
in landing and takeoff paths.

FAA officials attributed some of the improvement this year in the error rate
to renewed efforts emphasizing "situational awareness" among the
controllers, especially at the start of work shifts when they are getting
accustomed to the rapid pace of traffic.

"Many times, errors occur during the first 15 minutes when a controller goes
on duty or during a period of light traffic," FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro
said.

The controllers union disagrees with a recent FAA investigation that
determined staffing levels are adequate in Elgin and were unrelated to the
24 controller errors in 2003, up from four in 2002.

"Controllers are routinely sitting in front of radar scopes for more than
two hours without a break because we don't have enough people," said Ray
Gibbons, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association at
the Elgin facility.


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