Norfolk airport's on-time performance 20th worst

Norfolk International and Newport News/ Williamsburg International airports have the 20th worst on-time performance in the country.

Nearly one-fourth of flights, 23.3 percent, at the two airports are delayed by an average of 56.5 minutes, according to a Brookings Institution report released Thursday.

Richmond International Airport is ranked 13th worst with 24.7 percent of flights delayed an average of 58 minutes.

Nationally, on average, 21 percent of flights are delayed for 56.5 minutes. A flight is considered delayed if it's 15 minutes or more late.

The report examined delays in the 100 largest metropolitan areas from June 2008 to June 2009 and grouped the data from multiple airports within those areas.

The worst delays were often in areas with the largest airports: the New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Boston areas. About 34 percent of flights in the New York area are late by close to 70 minutes.

Managers of the Norfolk and Newport News airports said that their on-time performance is hurt because they fly to many of the airports with the worst records.

"When you have delay-ridden cities as part of your service pattern, it certainly brings down your average," said Ken Spirito, executive director of the Newport News/Williamsburg airport.

"Any delays here are not due to inadequate airport or airfield facilities," Wayne Shank, executive director of the Norfolk airport, said. "Many times delays at the originating airport are a direct result of heavy traffic at the other destination."

The Brookings report indicates that long airline delays are twice as common now as in 1990. About 10 percent of all flights now arrive at least two hours late, compared with 4.3 percent in 1990.

The average delay has grown as well, nearly 57 minutes now, from 41 minutes in 1990.

"The nation's air travel network is a metropolitan network," said Adie Tomer, a Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program research analyst and co-author of the report. "It is these metro areas that fuel - and slow - the entire system.

"Our report clearly demonstrates that the largest metro areas are the primary source of passenger delays. Federal aviation policy needs to do more to provide the right tools to these regions so that the system as a whole can function efficiently."

A lot of the delays are due to heavy concentrations of short trips between big cities, Brookings researchers said, but also to an aging air traffic control system and other factors.

Researchers' suggestions to alleviate delays include offering high-speed rail as an alternative to short flights and allowing busy airports to charge extra fees for rush-hour flights to encourage airlines to better distribute trips throughout the day.

Debbie Messina, (757) 446-2588, debbie.messina@pilotonline.com