Source:	ABCNews.com
Headlines:	U.S. Flight Delays Increased in October
W A S H I N G T O N, Dec. 1 - Air traffic control delays in October rose, as worsening congestion at New York's LaGuardia Airport and equipment failures offset gains from better weather, figures released today showed. The Federal Aviation Administration said there were 43,794 air traffic control operations delayed in October, up just 1 percent from September's 43,357 delays but a massive 55 percent increase over October last year. The FAA regards a delay as any air traffic control operation that is 15 minutes or more late. Many operations may be required to complete a flight. Declining disruption from thunderstorms in October saw weather-related delays fall 12 percent from the previous month, but congestion increased at LaGuardia, the airport now blamed for nearly a quarter of delays nationally. LaGuardia delays have soared under legislation passed in April that lifted limits on some flights in an effort to boost competition and expand service to smaller communities. To temporarily improve the situation, the FAA will cut the number of these new flights, holding an auction Monday to allocate 159 daily aircraft movements, compared with more than 200 new commuter flights at present. Air Traffic Control Equipment Faulted FAA said it also experienced a sharp increase in delays due to problems with its air traffic control equipment, mainly at its Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Oakland centers that handle high-altitude traffic. Delays from all causes, including runway repair and traffic volume, were all up from October a year ago. For the past two years, the U.S. air traffic control system has been struggling to cope with increased traffic, particularly during the summer months, when thunderstorms play havoc with crowded flight paths. Coordination of the control system has been centralized and the FAA has increased cooperation with airlines to alleviate the problems, but experts agree new air traffic control technologies and more runways must come on stream to make a real difference.