Research: 140 U.S. tarmac delays in 2025 lasted four hours, worst in a decade

U.S. PIRG Education Fund said on May 19 that U.S. domestic tarmac delays worsened sharply in 2025, with 140 incidents lasting at least four hours, 55 lasting at least five hours and 23 lasting at least six hours. The findings were published in the group’s “Plane Truth 2026” report and cited by The Denver Post on May 19. Bureau of Transportation Statistics data show airlines recorded 708 domestic tarmac delays exceeding three hours in 2025, up from 435 in 2024. The report said that was the highest domestic total since federal tarmac-delay rules took effect in 2010. ### How bad were U.S. tarmac delays in 2025? The 2025 totals extended well beyond the federal reporting threshold. U.S. PIRG Education Fund said 140 domestic delays lasted four hours or more, 55 stretched to five hours or more, and 23 ran at least six hours. The group based its analysis on Department of Transportation and Bureau of Transportation Statistics data. (publicinterestnetwork.org) BTS data show 708 domestic tarmac delays of more than three hours in 2025, compared with 435 in 2024. The broader BTS table for domestic and international flights shows 2025 had 673 lengthy tarmac events in all, including 600 domestic and 73 international under that dataset’s reporting structure. ### What counts as a tarmac delay under U.S. rules? The Department of Transportation defines a tarmac delay as time when an airplane on the ground is awaiting takeoff or has landed and passengers cannot get off. (publicinterestnetwork.org) DOT rules require airlines at U.S. airports to provide passengers an opportunity to deplane before a domestic tarmac delay exceeds three hours and before an international delay exceeds four hours, subject to safety, security and air-traffic-control exceptions. (transtats.bts.gov) Airlines also must provide food and water no later than two hours after the delay begins. The federal rule matters because the 2025 counts were measured against that three-hour domestic threshold. The eCFR says covered carriers must file and follow contingency plans for lengthy tarmac delays at U.S. airports where they operate. ### Where did the worst 2025 delay happen? The Denver Post said Newark had the longest delay of 2025 on July 14. (transportation.gov) The paper cited a Newark incident in which passengers on a Detroit-bound flight spent about seven hours on the tarmac. Separate contemporaneous reports from July 2025 described severe weather disruptions at Newark and passengers stranded for roughly seven to eight hours before cancellation. (ecfr.gov) July 15, 2025 coverage from aviation and local news outlets described a storm-driven operational breakdown at Newark Liberty International Airport. Those accounts said multiple flights were delayed for hours on the ground as the airport dealt with heavy weather and congestion. ### Who produced the research, and what else did it find? U.S. PIRG Education Fund released “The Plane Truth 2026” on May 19, with Teresa Murray and Lillian Tracy listed as authors. (denverpost.com) The report said on-time arrivals in 2025 hit their worst level since 2014 and that one in 12 flights on the 10 largest airlines arrived an hour or more late. An AP-based report on the study said more than 118,000 flights were canceled in 2025 among the nation’s largest carriers and their regional partners, while overall on-time performance fell to 76.34%. (liveandletsfly.com) Colorado PIRG Foundation Executive Director Danny Katz said in a related state release that air travel had become “erratic and stressful” and pointed to a shortage of air traffic controllers, weather, cancellations and higher fees. That characterization was Katz’s, not a government finding. ### Where can readers track the underlying numbers? (publicinterestnetwork.org) The Bureau of Transportation Statistics maintains public tarmac-delay tables showing yearly totals by category, and its domestic tarmac database says data are available through December 2025. The Department of Transportation also publishes consumer guidance on what passengers are owed during lengthy tarmac delays at U.S. airports. (pirg.org) The PIRG report and related state releases were published on May 19, 2026, and the BTS and DOT pages remain the primary public sources for updated counts and the governing rules. (pirg.org) (transtats.bts.gov)