O’Hare delays hit routes

Chicago O’Hare was one of the country’s busiest trouble spots this weekend, with hundreds of flights running late and a smaller number scrubbed altogether. (faa.gov) Federal Aviation Administration status data showed O’Hare traffic management programs tied to weather and thunderstorms, with some inbound flights facing average delays of 3 hours and 20 minutes. The agency said those programs can also disrupt departing schedules. (faa.gov) FlightAware’s O’Hare cancellation page listed disruptions touching airlines including United, Lufthansa and Spirit, while destination and origin tables showed affected traffic involving places such as Munich, San Juan and Fort Myers. The airport-level totals on the tracker showed O’Hare among the more delayed hubs in the system. (flightaware.com) The weekend problems at O’Hare landed inside a broader national slowdown, not a single-airline failure. FlightAware’s MiseryMap showed 871 delays and 18 cancellations across the United States at one point on April 13, after heavier disruption on April 12. (flightaware.com) Weather has been a repeated trigger for O’Hare disruptions in recent weeks. On March 13, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that high winds and a Federal Aviation Administration ground stop snarled arrivals after gusts above 60 miles per hour hit the region. (chicago.suntimes.com) O’Hare is also under pressure from its schedule size. CBS Chicago reported on March 19 that the Federal Aviation Administration was meeting with airlines about possible summer flight cuts after identifying O’Hare as one of the nation’s most delayed airports last summer. (cbsnews.com) In that meeting, the Federal Aviation Administration said 3,080 flights were scheduled on peak summer days, compared with 2,554 per day last summer, and proposed capping operations at 2,608 daily. The Chicago Department of Aviation argued for a higher ceiling of 2,800 flights a day. (cbsnews.com) For passengers, the immediate issue is simpler than the policy fight: a weather program at one of the country’s biggest connecting airports can ripple from Chicago into domestic and international itineraries in a few hours. Federal Aviation Administration guidance says travelers should check directly with their airline for flight-specific updates. (faa.gov)