DFW and O’Hare hurt by aircraft inspections

No surprise here, FlightStats reports that the on-time arrival performance at Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) and Chicago O’Hare (ORD), the planet’s third and second-busiest airports respectively were hurt by Federal Aviation Administration-mandated aircraft inspections in April.

DFW and ORD are major hubs for American Airlines. FAA made American re-inspect its MD-80s for wiring issues in April, and that hammered on-time performance. Flight cancellation rates at Dallas/Fort Worth ran at 5.9 percent, while 4.3 percent of the flights at Chicago O’Hare were axed. The result: just 70.59 percent of the flights at DFW were on time in April and 69.37 percent of the flights at O’Hare, according to FlightStats.

Another stat that will surprise no one: the worst airport in North America in terms of on-time arrivals was close-in, geographically constrained New York LaGuardia (LGA), where a mere 55.50 percent of the flights arrived on time during April.

The top performer among U.S. airports was Salt Lake City International (SLC). A major hub for Delta Air Lines, FlightStats says more than 86 percent of SLC’s flights got to the gate on time – that is to say within 15 minutes of schedule.

© Cheapflights Ltd Jerry Chandler