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TIA Ranks 2nd In On-Time Performance

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By TED JACKOVICS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 4, 2008

TAMPA - You better be on time if you plan to catch a flight or pick someone up at Tampa International Airport.

Tampa International ranked second nationwide in on-time performance for arrivals and departures in November, U.S. Department of Transportation data released Thursday showed.

Tampa flights departed within 15 minutes of schedule - the DOT's benchmark for on-time performance - 88 percent of the time in November, while 86.2 percent of flights arrived on time.

That compares with nationwide leader Salt Lake City International Airport, where 91.5 percent of departures and 88.5 percent of arrivals were on time.

New York's LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport ranked lowest among the nation's 32 major airports in arrivals and departures performance.

"This is our highest ranking ever for both arrivals and departures," Tampa International director Louis Miller said. "Our weather has been good and air traffic control is doing a great job here."

Miller said the airport's service performance continued to be strong over the Christmas period, although official figures have not been tabulated. There were somewhat fewer passengers in 2007, in part because local school vacation patterns started and ended later, he said.

"Plus the economy is not booming," Miller said.

Nationwide, there were fewer flight delays, cancellations and incidents of mishandled baggage in November than a year ago, the DOT said.

The nation's 20 largest carriers reported 80 percent of arrivals were on time in November, surpassing the 76.5 percent on-time rate a year ago and the 78.2 percent on-time rate in October.

Performance improved in all categories of U.S. flight delays, which include air traffic control system glitches, airline maintenance and crew difficulties and extreme weather conditions. In addition, there was a decline in delays attributed to the snowballing effect of late arrivals causing other flights to depart behind schedule.

Late flights in 2007 frustrated travelers, airline officials, elected officials and the Federal Aviation Administration, but none could agree about the causes or remedies.

Airlines contend the FAA's air traffic control network is outmoded, while some elected officials, including President Bush, believe that over-scheduling at New York area airports is largely to blame for a major proportion of delays.

The Maryland-based Air Travelers Association said Thursday that it is concerned the Bush administration's strategy of limiting the number of flights at New York area airports will spread to Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Washington, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at tjackovics@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7817.

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