New York City area airports are handling more passengers than ever but remain among the worst in the U.S. for on-time performance, according to the Global Gateway Alliance, a group that advocates for greater investment in the region’s airports.
Only 70.58 per cent of flights at Newark operate on time — the worst in the US — followed by San Francisco (72.21 per cent), LaGuardia (73.93 per cent), and JFK (74.22 per cent). Minneapolis-Saint Paul has the nation’s best on-time performance, 86.08 per cent.
“What’s frustrating is that we know some of the strategies and technologies necessary to begin to fix this problem,” said Joe Sitt, a real estate developer who founded Global Gateway Alliance.
Sitt called for better communications between the New York/New Jersey Port Authority and terminal operators and installation of new, FAA-tested technology that can reduce delays.
The Port Authority is spending approximately $11 billion over the next decade to improve the region’s airports. The agency-run airports handled a record 132.6 million passengers in 2017, up from 130.2 million travellers in 2016.