The Transportation Department said Tuesday that domestic airline delays last year were the second worst ever recorded. More than 26 percent of flights had delays in 2007, which is only slightly better than the 27.4 percent rate of 2000. The federal government began compiling this statistic in 1995.
Rising passenger demand and crowded skies and tarmacs have been blamed for the less-than-stellar on-time numbers. President Bush has asked for action to be taken to avert another repeat of 2007, while Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said congested airports could charge landing fees, which might help spread out landing times throughout the day. (DE)