Message from the COO

October 2017

Every day, the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization (ATO) provides service to more than 43,000 flights and 2.5 million
airline passengers across more than 29 million square miles of airspace. We also maintain more than 65,000
pieces of equipment all day, every day. With an airspace system as vast and complex as ours, it is helpful to have
an easy-to-reference source for relevant facts and information. Therefore, I am pleased to announce the
inaugural edition of the ATO’s By the Numbers.

This report provides a glimpse into the operational status and efficiency of our nation’s airports, air traffic
control facilities, and airways throughout the U.S. National Airspace System. It includes data on runway
incursions and loss of separation events, commercial space launch activity, the economic impact of aviation,
and other categories.

The impetus for the report was the high frequency of similar questions being asked about the ATO. These
questions include ones like:

• Where and how many Ground Delay Programs were issued?

• How many air traffic controllers are currently in the workforce? And,
• How many flights does the ATO handle?

This publication provides answers to these questions and many more!

I thank the many people across our organization who collaborated with each other to make contributions to
this terrific product. I am confident that it will showcase the outstanding work we’re doing to keep passengers
safe and get them to their destinations efficiently. I look forward to a continued successful collaboration among
our experts to update this book as needed. I welcome you to take a look.

Teri L. Bristol

Chief Operating Officer

Air Traffic Organization
Federal Aviation Administration

ii
FAA Contributors to ATO By the Numbers
• Air Traffic Organization (ATO)
o AJR - System Operations
 AJR-G Performance Analysis
 AJR-B Flight Service
o AJI - Safety and Technical Training Services
 AJI-3 Policy and Performance
o AJG - Management Services
 AJG-P ATO People Services
o AJW- Technical Operations Services
 AJW-2A AMS Facilities Portfolio Lead and Future Planning
• Non-ATO
o AOC – Office of Communications
o ABP-230 – Data Analysis and Reporting Services Branch
o AST – Office of Commercial Space Transportation

Data Sources
Database Name Owned/Managed by
Aviation System Performance Metrics (ASPM) AJR-G
Performance Data Analysis and Reporting System (PDARS) AJR-G
Weather Impact Traffic Index (WITI) AJR-G
Operations Systems Network (OPSNET) AJR-G and AJW
National Traffic Management Log (NTML) AJR-G and AJW
Traffic Flight Management System (TFMS) AJR-G (archives) and AJW
National Offload Program (NOP) AJR-G (archives) and AIT
U.S. Civil Airmen Statistics AJG
Runway Incursion Data AJI
BTS T-100 Market and Segment Data Department of Transportation

iii
Table of Contents
Message from the COO ........................................................................................................................................................... ii
FAA Contributors to ATO By the Numbers ............................................................................................................................ iii
Data Sources .......................................................................................................................................................................... iii
Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................................................... iv
Air Traffic Organization Leadership ........................................................................................................................................ 1
Air Traffic Management System Overview ............................................................................................................................. 2
Class B Airspaces (Airspace around Busiest US Airports) ................................................................................................... 3
Air Traffic Controller Staffing .............................................................................................................................................. 4
Pilot Certificates .................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Flight and Available Seat Mile (ASM) Trends ...................................................................................................................... 6
Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) and Visual Flight Rule (VFR)* Flights across the NAS ............................................................. 7
Demand and Efficiency in the NAS.......................................................................................................................................... 8
Number of IFR Flights at Any Given Minute during Peak Operational Times ..................................................................... 9
Core 30 Airport Tower Operations ................................................................................................................................... 10
Core 22 Terminal Radar Control (TRACON) Facilities ....................................................................................................... 11
Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) and Center Radar Approach Control (CERAP) Facilities .................................. 12
Average Hourly Capacity (Called Rate) at Core 30 Airports .............................................................................................. 13
Average Daily Capacity (ADC) - Based on Called Rates at Core 30 Airports ..................................................................... 14
Level Flight: Average Number of Level-Offs ..................................................................................................................... 15
Level Flight: Average Level Flight Distance from TOD to Arrival ...................................................................................... 16
Delay, Diversions, Go-Arounds, and Cancellations ............................................................................................................... 17
Counts of Delay ................................................................................................................................................................. 18
Delays by category ............................................................................................................................................................ 19
Total Cost of Delay ............................................................................................................................................................ 19
Diversions .......................................................................................................................................................................... 20
Go-Arounds ....................................................................................................................................................................... 21
Cancellations ..................................................................................................................................................................... 22
Traffic Management Initiatives ............................................................................................................................................. 23
Ground Delay Programs .................................................................................................................................................... 24
Ground Stops .................................................................................................................................................................... 25
Airspace Flow Programs by Center ................................................................................................................................... 26
Holdings by Center ............................................................................................................................................................ 27
Safety Metrics ....................................................................................................................................................................... 28

iv
 Runway Incursions and Surface Incidents ........................................................................................................................ 29
Incursions by Type, FY 2016 .............................................................................................................................................. 30
Loss of Standard Separation Count ................................................................................................................................... 31
Other ATO Topics .................................................................................................................................................................. 32
Flight Service Stations ....................................................................................................................................................... 33
FAA Flight Services ............................................................................................................................................................ 34
Commercial Space Launch Activity ................................................................................................................................... 35
A380 Operations by Airport .............................................................................................................................................. 36
Glossary of Terms.................................................................................................................................................................. 37
Acknowledgements............................................................................................................................................................... 40

v
Air Traffic Organization Leadership

www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/leadership

1
Air Traffic Management System Overview
ATO Program and Financing FY16 Operations Budget Estimate $7.5 Billion
Total IFR Flights Handled 15,631,000
Scheduled 9,709,000
Unscheduled 5,922,000
Airspace 29.4 million square miles
Oceanic 24.1 million square miles
Domestic 5.3 million square miles
Airports 19,601
Public Airports 5,116
Private Airports 14,485
ATC Towers 521
Federal 268
Contract 253
TRACONs 160
Stand-Alone 27
Combined ATC Towers 132
RAPCON 1
EnRoute Centers 25
ARTCC 21
CERAP/CCF 4
NAVAIDS 12,713
Alaska Weather Cameras 236
Controllers 14,050
GA Aircraft 210,000
Fixed Wing 164,200
Rotorcraft 10,500
Experimental/Lightcraft/Other 35,300
GA Flight Hours 24,142,000

2
Class B Airspaces (Airspace around Busiest US Airports)
Note: Airspaces accurately represented for coverage area

3
Air Traffic Controller Staffing
FY 2015 FY 2016
Total Controllers 14,010 14,050
Academy Graduate (AG) 936 878
Developmental (D1) 193 176
Developmental (D2) 419 622
Developmental (D3) 411 496
Certified Professional (CPC) 10,833 10,619
Certified Professional in training (CPCIT) 1,218 1,259
Total Academy 133 399
Total HeadCount 14,143 14,449
Source: ABP-230 – Data Analysis and Reporting Services Branch

MIA, TPA, CLT, PHL, and TPA report large headcounts because these are Combined ATCT TRACONs.

4
Pilot Certificates

ESTIMATED ACTIVE PILOT CERTIFICATES HELD

BY CATEGORY AND AGE GROUP OF HOLDER

as of December 31, 2016

Type of Pilot Certificates Flight

Instructor
2/
Airline
Recre- Private Commercial Remote
Age Group Total Student Sport Transport CFI 3/
ational 1/ 1/ Pilot 2/
1/

Total 584,361 128,501 5,889 178 174,517 112,056 163,220 104,382 20,362

14-15 259 259 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

16-19 16,491 12,697 16 3 3,482 293 0 56 214
20-24 57,599 31,808 112 28 14,815 10,058 778 3,637 1,388
25-29 64,176 26,837 201 30 13,698 17,703 5,707 8,101 2,397
30-34 55,351 17,693 239 12 13,167 12,011 12,229 11,884 2,761
35-39 50,246 12,314 234 10 12,342 8,997 16,349 11,919 2,564
40-44 44,770 6,212 292 9 12,577 7,513 18,167 10,691 2,217
45-49 49,254 5,571 427 11 13,322 7,417 22,506 11,642 2,143
50-54 56,377 4,962 676 11 16,929 8,214 25,585 10,614 2,094
55-59 59,558 4,069 933 19 20,822 8,966 24,749 9,733 1,746
60-64 52,066 2,847 993 15 21,015 9,275 17,921 8,703 1,425
65-69 36,580 1,798 807 14 15,516 8,598 9,847 7,572 893
70-74 23,543 954 560 9 9,758 6,762 5,500 5,499 376
75-79 11,018 328 266 3 4,382 3,574 2,465 2,683 118
80 and 7,073 152 133 4 2,692 2,675 1,417 1,648 26
over

1/ Includes pilots with an airplane and/or a helicopter and/or a glider and/or a gyroplane certificate.
Pilots with multiple ratings will be reported under highest rating. For example a pilot with a private
helicopter and commercial airplane certificates will be reported in the commercial category.
2/ Not included in total active pilots.
3/ Certified Flight Instructor

Source: U.S. Civil Airmen Statistics, 2016, Table 12

5
Flight and Available Seat Mile (ASM) Trends
Since 2010, there has been a reduction in scheduled flights but an increase in available seat miles (ASMs).
ASMs is a measure of passenger capacity by the carriers. It is computed by multiplying the number of seats in
the aircraft by the stage length of the flight. In recent years, carriers have reduced the number of smaller aircraft
and increased operations of larger aircraft. Also, the average stage length has increased. Both these factors
increase the total passenger capacity. As a result, even though the total number of flights has decreased, the
capacity to fly passengers has increased.

Source: INNOVATA

Passenger Statistics
FY 2015 FY 2016
Yearly Passengers 912,485,113 946,846,490
Average Daily Passengers 2,499,959 2,587,012
Revenue Passenger Miles (trillions) 1.30 1.37
Available Seat Miles (trillions) 1.58 1.67
Passenger Load Factor (%) 82.46% 82.18%

Economic Impact of Civil Aviation

CY 2013 CY 2014
Aviation in US generates # jobs 10,139,000 10,600,000
Earnings of (billions) $427.0 $446.8
Aviation contributes annually (trillions) $ 1.55 $1.62
Constitutes % of GDP 5.1% 5.1%

SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market and Segment, Innovata,

and “The Economic Impact of Civil Aviation on the U.S. Economy, November 2016”,
https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/media/2016-economic-impact-
report_FINAL.pdf

6
Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) and Visual Flight Rule (VFR)* Flights across the NAS

The frequency of IFR flights declined in the wake of the Great Recession. Higher fuel costs also contributed to
the reduction in flights. A slow recovery in IFR operations began in FY14; however, traffic in FY16 was about
1% lower than in FY15.

*Note: OPSNET reports VFR activity as total operations (arrivals + departures). Total VFR flights are approximated by dividing total operations by 2.

Frequency of VFR flights dropped dramatically in the wake of the Great Recession, likely due to high costs.
After a slight increase in FY12, VFR flight activity has continued to decrease through FY16.
Source: TFMS and OPSNET
7
Demand and Efficiency in the NAS
The NAS is composed of 521 airport towers, 160 Terminal Radar Control (TRACON) facilities (27 Stand-
Alone, 132 Combined ATCT, and 1 RAPCON), and 25 Control Centers (21 Air Route Traffic Control Centers
(ARTCC) and 4 Center Radar Approach Control (CERAP) facilities).

TRACONs handle descending flights received from a Center or ascending flights received from an ATC
tower (see figure below). Of the 160 TRACONs in the NAS, 132 of them are Combined such that the TRACON
exists in the same location as the ATC tower. Such facilities include Miami, Charlotte, and El Paso Towers.
Unlike ATC towers, controllers working in TRACONs do not need to see the physical aircraft but rather rely
solely on radar screens.

Centers handle all en route flights operating on Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) flight plans. Centers receive flights
from or hand off flights to other Centers throughout the flight’s en route phase of operation. They also receive
flights or hand off flights to TRACONs when flights enter or exit the en route phase of operation.

The report reveals the demand observed at some of the busiest facilities which include 30 airport towers
(known as the Core 30), 22 TRACONs, and all 24 Centers (which include 3 CERAPs). Efficiency is also reported
based on the following metrics:

Number of Flights at Any Given Minute

Average Hourly Capacity
Average Daily Capacity
Average Number of Level-Offs
Average Level Flight Distance from TOD to Arrival

8
Number of IFR Flights at Any Given Minute during Peak Operational Times

5,000 Flights
TFMS flight data for twenty sample days in FY16 representing nominal conditions in the NAS were used to
estimate the average number of flights en route every minute of the day and by U.S. time zone. Peak
operational times in the NAS range between 1500 GMT and 2200 GMT. During peak operational times in the
NAS, there are approximately 5,000 flights en route in the NAS.

The figure below shows the average number of flights en route per minute and flights under air traffic control
within a time zone. The Eastern Time Zone has the largest share of flights in the NAS on average, and in this
analysis, also includes flights under air traffic control from Puerto Rico and Bermuda. The Pacific Time Zone
category includes all west coast air traffic as well as oceanic operations controlled by Oakland Center (ZOA),
including Hawaii and Guam.

Flights by Minute of the Day (GMT) and Time Zone

5,000
4,500
4,000
3,500
Number of Flights

3,000 Eastern

2,500 Central

2,000 Mountain

1,500 Pacific

1,000 Alaska

500
0

Source: AJR-G

9
Core 30 Airport Tower Operations
Demand at the airports is reported as total operations, i.e. arrivals + departures. Each flight has a single arrival and
departure resulting in two operations at the airport.

Source: OPSNET

5-Year 5-Year
Airport Rank* Average FY15 FY16 Airport Rank* Average FY15 FY16
ATL 1 921,648 876,785 899,040 LAX 3 603,148 648,036 685,889
BOS 17 366,845 372,019 394,817 LGA 19 370,635 369,424 374,720
BWI 27 266,431 244,956 247,576 MCO 20 307,329 311,086 323,148
CLT 6 542,579 545,602 545,894 MDW 26 250,236 254,078 252,326
DCA 23 285,066 296,250 299,899 MEM 28 280,197 219,617 224,541
DEN 5 611,824 550,724 566,035 MIA 13 390,335 409,119 416,920
DFW 4 659,554 683,956 676,890 MSP 14 427,953 405,102 410,593
DTW 18 430,149 380,160 392,383 ORD 2 877,580 880,804 872,332
EWR 12 413,349 413,813 427,796 PHL 16 442,994 412,749 402,013
FLL 25 263,634 274,754 287,264 PHX 11 446,639 438,424 442,322
HNL 22 278,718 314,423 307,537 SAN 29 188,333 194,775 195,527
IAD 24 346,335 299,118 291,475 SEA 15 317,266 372,139 407,637
IAH 8 517,780 507,534 479,778 SFO 10 411,250 429,203 447,252
JFK 9 412,485 442,630 458,830 SLC 21 343,554 315,338 318,285
LAS 7 521,632 520,897 532,979 TPA 30 189,693 189,721 189,302
*Ranked by FY16 operations

10
Core 22 Terminal Radar Control (TRACON) Facilities

Source: OPSNET

TRACON Rank* 5-Yr Avg FY15 FY16 TRACON Rank* 5-Yr Avg FY15 FY16
A80 8 1,218,091 1,167,065 1,198,348 M98 19 544,612 521,513 525,247
A90 16 613,446 605,674 639,498 MIA 5 1,003,659 1,388,364 1,426,645
C90 6 1,241,410 1,252,133 1,254,412 N90 2 1,873,054 1,892,552 1,949,388
CLT 9 633,419 1,176,720 1,182,158 NCT 3 1,470,358 1,558,229 1,586,639
D01 12 856,722 792,982 820,064 P50 14 640,129 670,361 672,972
D10 7 1,125,970 1,205,819 1,213,222 PCT 4 1,466,063 1,417,578 1,426,859
D21 20 565,022 505,740 521,998 PHL 10 700,574 999,526 976,341
F11 13 637,899 654,086 673,746 S46 18 483,259 539,485 578,654
I90 11 938,707 939,698 913,611 S56 21 424,699 404,545 408,675
L30 17 587,657 585,590 605,514 SCT 1 1,978,068 2,063,122 2,099,756
M03 22 341,285 285,437 301,930 TPA 15 471,541 639,033 645,497
*Ranked by FY 2016 flights handled

11
Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) and Center Radar Approach Control (CERAP)
Facilities

Source: OPSNET

5-Year 5-Year
Center Rank* Average FY15 FY16 Center Rank* Average FY15 FY16
HCF 22 286,689 488,415 489,032 ZLA 10 1,988,479 2,118,926 2,229,653
ZAB 17 1,448,545 1,518,002 1,564,647 ZLC 19 1,300,957 1,337,087 1,394,441
ZAN 21 534,911 579,351 582,494 ZMA 3 2,329,343 2,577,234 2,546,654
ZAU 5 2,341,249 2,258,724 2,397,472 ZME 11 2,031,942 2,032,575 2,099,894
ZBW 18 1,668,029 1,472,544 1,523,097 ZMP 13 1,844,072 1,895,435 1,941,944
ZDC 4 2,558,449 2,426,733 2,464,286 ZNY 2 2,751,791 2,611,131 2,684,769
ZDV 14 1,692,145 1,696,035 1,764,984 ZOA 16 1,466,835 1,557,960 1,640,881
ZFW 8 1,997,927 2,273,465 2,299,251 ZOB 7 2,216,456 2,304,949 2,387,361
ZHU 9 2,026,603 2,241,133 2,250,837 ZSE 20 1,086,118 1,102,124 1,173,627
ZID 12 1,946,029 1,953,334 2,023,298 ZSU 23 264,990 309,799 312,528
ZJX 6 2,212,774 2,272,655 2,393,729 ZTL 1 2,765,034 2,923,189 3,047,184
ZKC 15 1,702,377 1,717,758 1,751,235 ZUA 24 240,298 249,705 267,862
*Ranked by FY 2016 flights handled

12
Average Hourly Capacity (Called Rate) at Core 30 Airports
In general, airport capacity is determined by its runways and surrounding airspace. For the purposes of this
report, capacity is represented by the airport’s called rates for reportable hours.

The highest average hourly called rates are found at ATL and ORD. The largest increases occurred at FLL (up
22%). FLL’s new runway dramatically increased capacity. A similar increase in capacity is seen for ORD due to
its new runway,10R/28L.

Source: AJR-G

5-Year 5-Year
Airport Average FY15 FY16 Airport Average FY15 FY16
ATL 216 228 232 LAX 150 124 131
BOS 91 83 86 LGA 73 72 73
BWI 68 64 67 MCO 152 146 140
CLT 154 158 153 MDW 61 61 63
DCA 66 65 66 MEM 151 151 154
DEN 218 193 214 MIA 127 128 128
DFW 193 188 192 MSP 144 144 141
DTW 152 140 147 ORD 198 200 210
EWR 80 80 80 PHL 105 99 104
FLL 66 83 102 PHX 135 134 134
HNL 109 107 112 SAN 47 48 48
IAD 133 139 133 SEA 94 83 83
IAH 159 166 162 SFO 92 93 93
JFK 84 86 89 SLC 151 144 128
LAS 104 104 106 TPA 114 124 122

13
Average Daily Capacity (ADC) - Based on Called Rates at Core 30 Airports
In general, airport capacity is determined by its runways and surrounding airspace. For the purposes of this
report, capacity is represented by the airport’s called rates for reportable hours. ADC is the ATO’s official
tracking method for determining an airport’s efficiency.

The highest ADCs are found at ATL, MEM, DEN and ORD. Note that ADC is larger for MEM than most other
airports because all 24 hours are reportable at MEM.

Source: ASPM

5-Year 5-Year
Airport Average FY15 FY16 Airport Average FY15 FY16
ATL 3,450 3,655 3,714 LAX 2,544 2,113 2,234
BOS 1,463 1,328 1,379 LGA 1,098 1,074 1,097
BWI 1,164 1,088 1,135 MCO 2,273 2,183 2,107
CLT 2,469 2,527 2,449 MDW 984 982 1,010
DCA 1,063 1,046 1,050 MEM 3,630 3,626 3,693
DEN 3,491 3,082 3,428 MIA 2,032 2,052 2,042
DFW 2,894 2,816 2,887 MSP 2,312 2,307 2,263
DTW 2,576 2,385 2,491 ORD 3,175 3,196 3,367
EWR 1,354 1,357 1,363 PHL 1,680 1,576 1,662
FLL 1,055 1,323 1,628 PHX 2,026 2,008 2,004
HNL 1,861 1,824 1,903 SAN 799 809 812
IAD 2,123 2,221 2,123 SEA 1,504 1,321 1,325
IAH 2,385 2,483 2,423 SFO 1,474 1,491 1,491
JFK 1,516 1,552 1,605 SLC 2,265 2,162 1,919
LAS 1,671 1,662 1,694 TPA 1,820 1,988 1,946

14
Level Flight: Average Number of Level-Offs

Source: AJR-G

4-Year 4-Year
Airport Average FY15 FY16 Airport Average FY15 FY16
ATL 3 3 2 LAX 1 1 1
BOS 3 2 2 LGA 4 4 4
BWI 4 4 3 MCO 3 3 3
CLT 3 3 2 MDW 4 4 4
DCA 3 3 3 MEM 2 2 2
DEN 2 2 2 MIA 2 2 2
DFW 2 2 2 MSP 2 2 2
DTW 3 3 3 ORD 3 3 3
EWR 5 5 4 PHL 4 4 4
FLL 3 3 3 PHX 2 2 2
HNL - - - SAN 1 1 2
IAD 4 3 3 SEA 1 1 1
IAH 3 2 2 SFO 2 1 1
JFK 3 3 3 SLC 2 2 2
LAS 2 2 2 TPA 2 2 2

Level-offs are tracked from the Top-of-Descent (TOD) point or 200 nautical miles (NM) from the airport,
whichever is closer. A trajectory segment is considered as a level-off if the change in altitude of position
reports is less than or equal to 200 feet and the segment is at least 50 seconds in duration. The metric is
calculated as the sum of the count of level-offs for each flight within a scope (i.e. non-military, Instrument
Flight Rules (IFR) operations arriving at Core Airports), divided by the total number of flights within the scope.
The metric is derived from flight position reports from the National Offload Program (NOP).

15
Level Flight: Average Level Flight Distance from TOD to Arrival

Source: AJR-G

4-Year 4-Year
Airport Average FY15 FY16 Airport Average FY15 FY16
ATL 35 35 33 LAX 16 16 17
BOS 40 32 29 LGA 61 60 62
BWI 49 47 44 MCO 39 40 37
CLT 42 39 32 MDW 58 60 57
DCA 50 45 44 MEM 26 23 22
DEN 25 23 22 MIA 29 28 29
DFW 28 19 19 MSP 32 26 22
DTW 47 48 45 ORD 51 52 52
EWR 62 59 58 PHL 60 59 57
FLL 33 31 32 PHX 26 22 22
HNL - - - SAN 20 19 20
IAD 49 45 45 SEA 10 11 13
IAH 32 21 23 SFO 19 15 13
JFK 43 41 42 SLC 31 28 29
LAS 33 33 31 TPA 24 26 25

Level-offs are tracked from the Top-of-Descent (TOD) point or 200 nautical miles (NM) from the airport,
whichever is closer. A trajectory segment is considered as a level-off if the change in altitude of position
reports is less than or equal to 200 feet and the segment is at least 50 seconds in duration. The metric is
calculated as the sum of the total distance flown during level-off segments for all flights within the scope (i.e.
non-military, Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations arriving at Core Airports), divided by the total number of
flights within the scope. The metric is derived from flight position reports from the National Offload Program
(NOP).

16
Delay, Diversions, Go-Arounds, and Cancellations

In this report, only flights which departed or arrived at their destination at least 15 minutes
late are counted as system delays. OPSNET is the ATO’s official data source for reporting delay
from which the report’s charts are generated. Many factors contribute to delay of which
weather is the most frequently impactful. Delay imposes stress on the NAS, the air traffic
controllers, passengers, and the economy.

Diversions occur when a flight is routed to another airport at which it was not originally
intended to land. This occurs usually due to convective weather preventing an aircraft from
reaching its intended airport. Other less frequent reasons such as medical emergencies,
security, issues with the aircraft, or issues with passengers/crew could also result in a
diversion.

Go-Arounds occur when an aircraft is on approach to the runway but suddenly aborts the
landing. This occurs if there is a sudden shift in the wind, an obstruction on the runway, or
possibly the aircraft inadvertently overshot the runway. Go-arounds result in the aircraft
returning to the landing queue to attempt the landing once again.

Cancellations can occur for numerous reasons either due to weather, extensive delays in the
system, equipment issues, etc. The carriers cancel their own flights in response to these issues.
Because of the 3-hour tarmac rule imposed after 2010, more flights have been cancelled which
in turn has reduced the amount of recorded delay.

17
Counts of Delay

Source: OPSNET

Core 30 Total Delay Counts

5-Year
Average FY15 FY16
210,689 213,206 211,966

5-Year 5-Year
Airport Rank* Average FY15 FY16 Airport Rank* Average FY15 FY16
ATL 9 17,100 7,656 7,246 LAX 6 2,499 15,727 12,582
BOS 8 6,249 9,185 7,370 LGA 1 32,149 38,039 42,296
BWI 21 909 869 920 MCO 27 177 144 166
CLT 15 5,041 3,916 4,558 MDW 25 886 1,903 611
DCA 10 2,702 5,592 7,120 MEM 26 529 225 355
DEN 17 2,867 4,120 3,277 MIA 18 1,500 2,036 3,056
DFW 11 2,243 4,303 7,020 MSP 13 2,214 3,192 5,990
DTW 20 2,797 2,240 1,254 ORD 4 29,685 26,016 17,523
EWR 3 31,943 16,731 19,814 PHL 7 16,902 14,244 10,432
FLL 24 3,033 184 645 PHX 19 3,589 3,805 3,021
HNL 30 22 44 27 SAN 23 464 564 656
IAD 22 1,076 814 668 SEA 14 267 1,792 5,742
IAH 16 4,786 4,144 4,357 SFO 2 22,310 22,964 23,641
JFK 5 13,182 17,385 15,420 SLC 29 469 45 62
LAS 12 2,942 5,230 6,054 TPA 28 156 97 83

18
Delays by category
Proportion of system impact delays at Core 30 airports by type of delay

Source: OPSNET

Note: System Impact Delays are delays assigned to causal facilities in OPSNET, composed of TMI to Delays,
Departure Delays, and Airborne Delays. System Impact Delays are also the basis for Delays by Class and Delays
by Cause in OPSNET. (http://aspmhelp.faa.gov/index.php/OPSNET_Reports:_Definitions_of_Variables)

Total Cost of Delay

$ Billions* 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Airlines1 5.1 6.1 4.9 6.7 6.3
Passengers2 9.3 10.8 8.6 11.9 11.8
Lost
1.2 1.4 1.2 1.5 1.5
Demand3
Indirect4 2.3 2.7 2.2 3.0 2.9
Total 18.0 21.0 16.9 23.2 22.5
*Constant 2009 Dollars

1 Increased expenses for crew, fuel, maintenance, etc.

2 Time lost due to schedule buffer, delayed flights, flight cancellations, missed connections
3 Estimated welfare loss incurred by passengers who avoid air travel as the result of delays
4 Increased cost of doing business for other sectors, making associated business less productive

Source: AJR-G

19
Diversions
The airports reported below are the original intended destinations for the diverted aircraft. Increased number
of diversions can be indicative of capacity issues at the airport due to weather, construction, or volume. In
2016, there was a 42% increase in diversions for aircraft destined for DFW.

Source: ASPM
Core 30 Total Diversions
5-Year
Average FY15 FY16
17,488 17,617 19,095

5-Year 5-Year
Airport Average FY15 FY16 Airport Average FY15 FY16
ATL 1,025 1,263 1,113 LAX 436 471 496
BOS 347 341 346 LGA 715 861 881
BWI 336 441 281 MCO 379 532 495
CLT 649 732 811 MDW 595 673 611
DCA 415 451 542 MEM 810 889 753
DEN 997 1,060 1,118 MIA 693 684 814
DFW 1,483 1,458 2,070 MSP 485 331 488
DTW 486 256 358 ORD 1,148 1,011 1,203
EWR 715 512 713 PHL 491 486 435
FLL 562 372 496 PHX 488 529 589
HNL 23 36 0 SAN 339 262 294
IAD 490 418 479 SEA 219 228 349
IAH 830 1,076 1,285 SFO 429 382 319
JFK 683 470 599 SLC 432 366 332
LAS 468 587 506 TPA 321 439 319

20
Go-Arounds

Source: PDARS

Airport FY15 FY16 Airport FY15 FY16

ATL 1.3% 1.3% LGA 1.6% 1.5%
BOS 1.4% 1.4% MCO 1.4% 1.4%
BWI 1.5% 1.5% MDW 1.5% 1.6%
CLT 1.3% 1.3% MEM 1.6% 1.6%
DCA 1.6% 1.7% MIA 1.4% 1.5%
DEN 1.5% 1.5% MSP 1.3% 1.3%
DFW 1.3% 1.4% ORD 1.4% 1.5%
DTW 1.4% 1.5% PDX 1.7% 1.7%
EWR 1.3% 1.3% PHL 1.5% 1.5%
FLL 1.5% 1.4% PHX 1.3% 1.3%
IAD 1.4% 1.3% SAN 1.8% 1.9%
IAH 1.3% 1.3% SEA 1.3% 1.3%
JFK 1.6% 1.5% SFO 1.5% 1.5%
LAS 1.4% 1.5% SLC 1.4% 1.3%
LAX 1.3% 1.3% TPA 1.5% 1.5%

Taken from the ATO-Safety Go-Around Report which counts the number of flights which performed a Go-
Around at airports. The business rules for reporting a go-around have been developed in conjunction with the
ATO-Safety Office. The reported arrival numbers do NOT include Military, HELO, "Touch and Go", unknown, or
untagged operations for the designated airports.

21
Cancellations

Source: ASPM

Core 30 Total Cancellations

5-Year
Average FY15 FY16
136,259 115,854 89,764

5-Year 5-Year
Airport Average FY15 FY16 Airport Average FY15 FY16
ATL 7,720 3,269 2,961 LAX 3,904 3,781 2,764
BOS 9,919 4,124 2,705 LGA 9,562 10,317 7,092
BWI 3,273 2,086 2,031 MCO 1,745 1,567 1,220
CLT 4,893 5,381 4,999 MDW 1,518 1,879 1,819
DCA 5,405 5,408 4,498 MEM 3,663 2,612 1,726
DEN 6,119 3,842 4,489 MIA 2,754 2,073 1,683
DFW 7,598 9,593 6,311 MSP 3,619 1,905 1,759
DTW 4,659 2,678 2,217 ORD 15,887 14,410 9,628
EWR 8,145 7,314 5,564 PHL 7,725 7,454 5,709
FLL 1,408 1,358 1,194 PHX 1,742 1,820 1,672
HNL 635 449 307 SAN 1,198 978 1,057
IAD 4,850 3,395 2,446 SEA 1,622 2,781 1,315
IAH 3,749 4,297 3,471 SFO 4,128 3,680 2,493
JFK 5,098 4,381 3,600 SLC 1,241 778 644
LAS 1,527 1,375 1,632 TPA 951 869 758

22
Traffic Management Initiatives
Traffic Management Initiatives (TMIs) are programs and tools that ATC may use to manage air
traffic. These initiatives can take a number of forms, depending on the need and situation.
Some TMIs are used to manage excess demand or a lowered acceptance rate at a particular
airport. Other TMIs are used to manage traffic issues in the en route environment usually
caused by convective weather. The TMIs reported in this report include:

Ground Delay Programs (GDP)

Ground stops (GS)

Airspace Flow Programs (AFP)

Holdings

23
Ground Delay Programs
A Ground Delay Program (GDP) is a TMI where aircraft are delayed at their departure airport in order to
reconcile demand with capacity at their arrival airport. They are airport-specific, therefore, each GDP is
reported for a single airport.

Source: NTML

Core 30 Total GDPs

5-Year
Average FY15 FY16
907 1,038 808

5-Year 5-Year
Airport Average CY15 CY16 Airport Average CY15 CY16
ATL 21 22 16 LAX 7 83 34
BOS 49 63 41 LGA 98 106 94
BWI 4 4 4 MCO 0 0 0
CLT 6 5 5 MDW 7 7 4
DCA 8 18 19 MEM 8 5 6
DEN 16 32 11 MIA 0 0 0
DFW 9 10 19 MSP 7 99 45
DTW 4 6 4 ORD 72 57 54
EWR 152 90 76 PHL 93 75 40
FLL 31 1 0 PHX 9 2 0
HNL 0 0 0 SAN 0 2 1
IAD 2 1 1 SEA 0 33 58
IAH 8 18 22 SFO 187 154 161
JFK 101 128 71 SLC 1 0 0
LAS 8 17 22 TPA 0 0 0

24
Ground Stops
Ground stops are the most restrictive form of TMI because they hold all aircraft, within the scope of the
ground stop, at their departure airports until conditions at the destination airport allow for their arrival.
Ground stops only affect arrivals to a specific airport (not departures) and, like GDPs, are airport-specific.

Source: NTML

Core 30 Total Ground Stops

5-Year
Average FY15 FY16
1,442 1,433 1,159

5-Year 5-Yr
Airport Average CY15 CY16 Airport Average CY15 CY16
ATL 72 72 60 LAX 17 47 36
BOS 45 45 38 LGA 149 148 140
BWI 46 33 21 MCO 12 12 16
CLT 82 40 44 MDW 42 47 16
DCA 58 65 45 MEM 8 9 2
DEN 57 85 59 MIA 11 5 21
DFW 46 61 51 MSP 21 48 27
DTW 51 63 26 ORD 118 105 83
EWR 152 100 93 PHL 131 116 68
FLL 14 2 16 PHX 13 13 12
HNL 0 0 0 SAN 9 12 7
IAD 44 37 28 SEA 2 17 41
IAH 41 49 50 SFO 70 62 62
JFK 105 93 62 SLC 5 2 1
LAS 20 37 28 TPA 6 8 6
25
Airspace Flow Programs by Center
Imagine a line drawn in space in association with a constraint, usually convective weather. Any flights filed
across the line (usually only in one direction) are assigned expected departure clearance times (EDCTs), to
ensure that they arrive at the line, or “boundary,” at a time when they can be accommodated.

Source: NTML

Total Airspace Flow Programs

5-Year
Average FY15 FY16
79 177 208

5-Year 5-Year
Center Average FY15 FY16 Center Average FY15 FY16
HCF 0 0 0 ZLA 0 0 0
ZAB 0 1 0 ZLC 0 0 0
ZAN 0 0 0 ZMA 6 53 83
ZAU 3 12 1 ZME 1 0 0
ZBW 1 1 0 ZMP 0 0 1
ZDC 22 19 12 ZNY 5 4 8
ZDV 1 1 7 ZOA 0 0 0
ZFW 3 0 2 ZOB 23 19 15
ZHU 17 46 62 ZSE 0 0 0
ZID 1 0 0 ZSU 0 0 0
ZJX 10 19 16 ZTL 1 0 1
ZKC 0 2 0 ZUA 0 0 0

26
Holdings by Center
A holding occurs when an aircraft is deliberately delayed en route by flying in a repeating rotational pattern.
They are typically implemented when there is traffic congestion or convective weather at the destination
airport or an adjacent facility.

Source: OPSNET

Total Holdings
5-Year
Average FY15 FY16
39,233 34,427 38,006

5-Year 5-Year
Center Average FY15 FY16 Center Average FY15 FY16
ZAB 353 540 672 ZLC 610 673 554
ZAN 95 119 68 ZMA 1,661 1,751 2,332
ZAU 2,356 1,899 2,264 ZME 502 382 472
ZBW 2,945 1,994 1,808 ZMP 1,370 975 1,182
ZDC 6,139 4,425 4,716 ZNY 3,573 4,860 5,449
ZDV 2,246 2,585 2,999 ZOA 1,097 1,384 934
ZFW 1,764 1,913 2,912 ZOB 2,469 1,309 1,393
ZHU 1,416 1,888 2,418 ZSE 278 430 534
ZID 729 641 708 ZTL 4,111 3,617 3,857
ZJX 995 1,166 1,287 HCF 19 38 12
ZKC 461 431 429 ZSU 157 294 149
ZLA 612 1,099 854 ZUA 2 14 3

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Safety Metrics

The U.S. National Airspace System is the safest air transportation system in the world. The
Report presents metrics used to measure the safety of the NAS:

Runway Incursions and Surface Incidents

Incursions by Type

Loss of Standard Separation Count

28
Runway Incursions and Surface Incidents

Source: DMRS and CEDAR Occurrence Reports universe

Core 30 Total Runway Incursions and Surface Incidents

5-Year Average FY15 FY16
387 440 457

Airport 5 Year Average FY15 FY16 Airport 5-Year Average FY15 FY16
ATL 20.4 24 21 LAX 28.2 28 28
BOS 13.8 21 14 LGA 9.2 9 10
BWI 8.8 4 10 MCO 3.2 5 2
CLT 17.4 30 15 MDW 13.8 13 19
DCA 12.0 10 14 MEM 4.6 4 10
DEN 10.8 11 12 MIA 11.6 16 17
DFW 17.2 22 27 MSP 13.4 10 29
DTW 14.0 12 25 ORD 29.4 35 41
EWR 10.2 7 7 PHL 10.0 9 13
FLL 7.4 9 4 PHX 13.2 16 8
HCF 33.4 44 49 SAN 3.0 3
IAD 6.4 7 7 SEA 9.6 9 18
IAH 7.6 9 18 SFO 14.0 14 25
JFK 10.0 16 4 SLC 13.2 12 22
LAS 15.8 24 21 TPA 5.6 7 7
*HNL was reported as HCF in FY16 reports

29
Incursions by Type, FY 2016
Type
Airport A B C D E Other
ATL 0 0 12 4 0 5
BOS 0 0 8 4 0 1
BWI 0 0 5 4 0 1
CLT 0 0 11 2 0 1
DCA 0 0 14 0 0 0
DEN 0 0 6 4 0 2
DFW 1 0 14 3 0 6
DTW 0 1 3 1 0 20
EWR 0 0 3 3 0 1
FLL 0 1 1 2 0 0
HNL 0 1 26 7 0 10
IAD 0 0 5 2 0 0
IAH 0 0 11 3 0 3
JFK 0 0 2 2 0 0
LAS 0 0 13 2 0 4
LAX 0 0 16 5 0 1
LGA 0 1 8 0 0 1
MCO 0 0 1 0 0 1
MDW 0 0 8 5 0 4
MEM 0 0 1 5 0 3
MIA 0 0 13 2 0 1
MSP 0 0 22 1 0 2
ORD 0 0 15 6 0 15
PHL 0 0 8 5 0 0
PHX 0 0 2 2 0 3
SAN 0 0 0 0 0 0
SEA 0 0 4 5 0 7
SFO 0 0 15 6 0 3
SLC 0 0 5 10 0 4
TPA 0 0 4 2 0 2

Source: Runway Incursion Database (http://www.asias.faa.gov/pls/apex/f?p=100:29:0::NO:::)

Category A - A serious incident in which a collision was narrowly avoided.

Category B - An incident in which separation decreases and there is a significant potential for collision, which may result in a time
critical corrective/evasive response to avoid a collision.
Category C - An incident characterized by ample time and/or distance to avoid a collision.
Category D - An incident that meets the definition of a runway incursion such as incorrect presence of a single
vehicle/person/aircraft on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and take-off of aircraft of aircraft
but with no immediate safety consequences.
Category E - An incident in which insufficient or conflicting evidence of the event precludes assigning another category.

30
Loss of Standard Separation Count

Total Losses of Standard Separation

3-Year
Average FY15 FY16
1,295 1,129 1,189

Center 3-Year Average FY15 FY16 Center 3-Year Average FY15 FY16
HCF 13 32 39 ZLA 74 83 104
ZAB 25 32 38 ZLC 31 62 57
ZAN 11 13 15 ZMA 82 73 98
ZAU 59 33 29 ZME 60 43 46
ZBW 31 34 22 ZMP 31 17 22
ZDC 134 92 82 ZNY 95 68 71
ZDV 55 55 64 ZOA 34 52 42
ZFW 70 52 61 ZOB 58 32 35
ZHU 44 36 32 ZSE 13 18 27
ZID 68 42 45 ZSU 10 8 8
ZJX 118 82 90 ZTL 150 134 130
ZKC 32 36 30 ZUA 1 0 2

Source: AJI-3

31
Other ATO Topics
There are a variety of other aspects of the NAS which are of special interest. The Report
presents the following:

Flight Service Stations

Commercial Space Launch Activity

Impacts of the A380 jumbo jet

32
Flight Service Stations
Flight Service Stations (FSS) are air traffic facilities that communicate directly with pilots to conduct
preflight briefings, flight plan processing, inflight advisory services, search and rescue initiation, and assistance
to aircraft in emergencies. FSS also relay Air Traffic Control clearances, process Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs)
and provide updates on aviation meteorological and aeronautical information. All 17 Alaskan flight service
stations are Federal facilities and the 6 stations throughout the rest of the country are contracted.

Another service to civil pilots is the Direct User Access Terminal Service (DUATS). DUATS is a weather information
and flight plan processing service contracted by the FAA. It is a telephone and internet based system through
which pilots can access weather and aeronautical information to help with flight planning.

ALASKA FSS Barrow FSS (BRW)

Cold Bay FSS (CDB)
Deadhorse FSS (SCC)
Dillingham FSS (DLG)
Fairbanks FSS (FAI)
Homer FSS (HOM)
Iliamna FSS (ILI)
Juneau FSS (JNU)
Kenai FSS (ENA)
Ketchikan FSS (KTN)
Kotzebue FSS (OTZ)
McGrath FSS (MCG)
Nome FSS (OME)
Northway FSS (ORT)
Palmer FSS (LBE)
Sitka FSS (SIT)
Talkeetna FSS (TKA)
ARIZONA FSS Prescott LM FSS HUB (PRC)
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FSS District of Colum. LM FSS HUB
FLORIDA FSS Miami AIFSS
MINNESOTA FSS Princeton AFSS
NORTH CAROLINA FSS Raleigh-Durham AFSS
TEXAS FSS Fort Worth LM FSS HUB

Source: Flight Service History (http://www.atchistory.org/) accessed on 3/21/2017

33
FAA Flight Services

FAA Facilities – Alaska Flight Service

Year Pilot Flight Preflight Inflight Airport NOTAMs Total

Briefs Plans Filed Calls Contacts Advisories Issued SAR

FY 2015 104,535 199,663 62,847 476,336 296,363 175,165 4,778

FY 2016 101,510 191,767 56,214 490,342 315,024 131,607 4,653

FAA Facilities – Contracted Services

Year Pilot Flight Preflight Inflight Flight Data NOTAMs Total

Briefs Plans Filed Calls Contacts Calls Issued SAR

FY 2015 1,029,623 719,349 1,727,668 391,632 220,023 251,610 No Data

FY 2016 892,170 608,761 1,495,293 326,820 194,983 227,576 3,782*

*FY 2016 Total SAR Count is for May 2016 to September 2016

DUATS – Web Services

Year Pilot Flight Plans

Briefs Filed

FY 2015 13,117,576 3,130,797

FY 2016 17,705,259 3,025,459

United States NOTAM Office (USNOF)

Year Domestic International

FY 2015 1,216,089 561,972

FY 2016 1,327,858 603,930

Source: AJR-B Flight Service

34
Commercial Space Launch Activity

Data Source: Space Launch Report, http://www.spacelaunchreport.com/ (2016).

Data Source: AST

35
A380 Operations by Airport
The A380 is a wide-body aircraft manufactured by Airbus. It has a unique impact on the NAS because of its
very large size and weight. The A380 poses challenges to air traffic controllers when maintaining separation
standards as the A380 has a very large wake profile. Airport infrastructure is also challenged as some
movement areas are not wide enough to accommodate the large aircraft. Further, some airports do not have
gates properly equipped to service this aircraft.

Source: Airbus home website, www.aircraft.airbus.com

The average number of A380 operations per day increased from 52 in FY 2015 to 62 in FY 2016.

36
Glossary of Terms

Airspace Flow Airspace Flow Programs (AFPs) manage demand-capacity imbalances through the issuance of Estimated
Programs (AFP) Departure Clearance Times (EDCT) to flights traversing a Flow Constrained Area (FCA). An AFP might be
used, for example, to reduce the rate of flights through a center when that center has reduced en route
capacity due to severe weather, replacing Mile-In-Trail (MIT) restrictions for a required reroute, managing
airport arrival fix demand or controlling multiple airports within a terminal area.

ARTCC Air Route Traffic Control Center. A facility established to provide air traffic control service to aircraft
operating on IFR flight plans within controlled airspace and principally during the en route phase of flight.
When equipment capabilities and controller workload permit, certain advisory/assistance services may be
provided to VFR aircraft. There are 20 ARTCCs in the continental U.S.

Called Rates The hourly throughput that an airport’s runways are able to sustain during periods of high demand. Called
rates include all arrival and departure traffic that an airport can support.

Cancellations The set of cancelled departures as determined by a combination of scheduled flights not flown and TFMS
flight plans that were cancelled and not re-filed for ASPM carriers and all other carriers reporting schedule
data; and ASQP flight cancellations.

Class B Airspaces Generally, that airspace from the surface to 10,000 feet MSL surrounding the nation's busiest airports in
terms of IFR operations or passenger enplanements. The configuration of each Class B airspace area is
individually tailored and consists of a surface area and two or more layers (some Class B airspace areas
resemble upside-down wedding cakes), and is designed to contain all published instrument procedures once
an aircraft enters the airspace.

Delays See OPSNET Delays

Diversions Gate Return / Air Return and en route diversion are considered a diversion. However, a planned stop for
fuel, known before departure from the gate, where the flight has been dispatched to is not.

Direct User Access DUATS, or Direct User Access Terminal Service is a weather information and flight plan processing service
Terminal Service contracted by FAA for use by United States civil pilots and other authorized users. The DUAT Service is a
(DUATS) telephone- and Internet-based system which allows the pilot to use a personal computer for access to a
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) database to obtain weather and aeronautical information and to file,
amend, and cancel domestic IFR and VFR flight plans.

Flight Service A flight service station (FSS) is an air traffic facility that provides information and services to aircraft pilots
Station (FSS) before, during, and after flights, but unlike air traffic control (ATC), is not responsible for giving instructions
or clearances or providing separation.

Go Around A go-around (sometimes called overshoot) is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on final approach.

37
Ground Delay Ground Delay Program. Ground Delay Programs are implemented to control air traffic volume to airports
Programs (GDP) where the projected traffic demand is expected to exceed the airport's acceptance rate for a lengthy period
of time. Lengthy periods of demand exceeding acceptance rate are normally a result of the airport's
acceptance rate being reduced for some reason. The most common reason for a reduction in acceptance
rate is adverse weather such as low ceilings and visibility.

How it works:

Flights that are destined to the affected airport are issued Expected Departure Clearance Times (EDCT) at
their point of departure. Flights that have been issued EDCTs are not permitted to depart until their
Expected Departure Clearance Time. These ECDTs are calculated in such a way as to meter the rate that
traffic arrives at the affected airport; ensuring that demand is equal to acceptance rate. The length of delays
that result from the implementation of a Ground Delay Program depends upon two factors: how much
greater than the acceptance rate the original demand was, and for what length of time the original demand
was expected to exceed the acceptance rate.

Ground Stops (GS) Ground Stops are implemented for a number of reasons. The most common reasons are:

• To control air traffic volume to airports when the projected traffic demand is expected to exceed the
airport's acceptance rate for a short period of time.
• To temporarily stop traffic allowing for the implementation of a longer-term solution, such as a Ground
Delay Program.
• The affected airport's acceptance rate has been reduced to zero.
How it works:

• Flights that are destined to the affected airport are held at their departure point for the duration of the
Ground Stop.
Holdings Holding (or flying a hold) is a maneuver designed to delay an aircraft already in flight while keeping it within
a specified airspace.

IFR flights Instrument Flight Rules. A set of rules governing the conduct of flight under instrument meteorological
conditions.

Level-Offs Level-offs are tracked from the Top-of-Descent (TOD) point or 200 nautical miles (NM) from the airport,
whichever is closer. A trajectory segment is considered as a level-off if the change in altitude of position
reports is less than or equal to 200 feet and the segment is at least 50 seconds in duration. The metric is
calculated as the sum of the count of level-offs for each flight within a scope (i.e. non-military Instrument
Flight Rules (IFR) operations arriving into Core Airports), divided by the total number of flights within the
scope. The metric is derived from flight position reports from the National Offload Program (NOP).

Loss of Separation A defined loss of separation between airborne aircraft occurs whenever specified separation minima in
Events controlled airspace are breached. Minimum separation standards for airspace are specified by ATS
authorities, based on ICAO standards.

Movement Area The movement area is defined as all taxiways and runways and is under the jurisdiction of the control tower.

Notice to Airmen A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) is a notice filed with an aviation authority to alert aircraft pilots of potential
(NOTAM) hazards along a flight route or at a location that could affect the safety of the flight.

38
OPSNET Delays Delays to instrument flight rules (IFR) traffic of 15 minutes or more, which result from the ATC system
detaining an aircraft at the gate, short of the runway, on the runway, on a taxiway, or in a holding
configuration anywhere en route, must be reported. The IFR controlling facility must ensure delay reports
are received and entered into OPSNET." These OPSNET delays are caused by the application of initiatives by
the Traffic Flow Management (TFM) in response to weather conditions, increased traffic volume, runway
conditions, equipment outages, and other causes.

Below are descriptions of the categories of delay causes resulting in a reportable delay:

Weather: The presence of adverse weather conditions affecting operations. This includes wind, rain,
snow/ice, low cloud ceilings, low visibility, and tornado/ hurricane/thunderstorm.

Volume: Delays must only be reported as volume when the airport is in its optimum configuration and no
impacting conditions have been reported when the delays were incurred.

Runway/Taxiway: Reductions in facility capacity due to runway/taxiway closure or configuration changes.

Equipment: An equipment failure or outage causing reduced capacity.

Other: All impacting conditions that are not otherwise attributed to weather, equipment, runway/taxiway,
or volume, such as airshow, aircraft emergency, bomb threat, external radio frequency interference, military
operations, nonradar procedures, etc.

Non-reportable delays are delays incurred by IFR traffic, but which should not be reported in OPSNET.

Runway A Runway Incursion is any occurrence at an aerodrome involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft,
Incursions vehicle or person on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and takeoff of aircraft.

TOD Top-of-Descent is the transition from the cruise phase of a flight to the descent phase, the point at which
the planned descent to final approach altitude is initiated.

VFR flights Visual Flight Rules. Rules that govern the procedures for conducting flight under visual conditions. The term
"VFR" is also used in the United States to indicate weather conditions that are equal to or greater than
minimum VFR requirements. In addition, it is used by pilots and controllers to indicate a type of flight plan.

39
Acknowledgements

The Office of Performance Analysis is very grateful for the helpful contribution, comments and guidance from:

Chris Atkin, AOC Contractor

Tony Choi, GRA Incorporated
Stephane Dehais, AOC Contractor
Susan Finnegan, FAA
Carlos Garcia, FAA
Aswin Gunnam, GRA Incorporated
Jon Henning, FAA
Mark Lesko, CNA
Neil Mansharamani, FAA
Randal Matsunaga, FAA
Dan Murphy, FAA
Maame Owusu-Afriyie, AOC Contractor
Doug Perry, FAA
Mike J. Sutherland, FAA
Toby Tomlinson, AOC Contractor
Steven Villanueva, FAA

Special thanks to Marcos Bolaños and Al Meilus for their hard work and dedication on this inaugural report.
Without their perseverance and integrity, the final report would not have happened.

For more information, please send inquiries to:

Thea Graham

thea.graham@faa.gov
Manager, Economic Analysis Group
Office of Performance Analysis

40