Airport Delays on the Rise

肖慧

Have you ever had travel problems because your airplane was late？ It is a problem and it is getting worse. Airport delays make people angry and cost people a lof of working time.

The Federal Aviation Administration （FAA） is the government agency that oversees air travel. They studied the problem of airline delays.

They found eleven major problems and proposed eleven ways to fix them. There are some things that require careful consideration， because different regions of the country do things differently. The regions don't talk to each other enough. Some of them need new computers.

Also， more planes are flying. A strong economy has more people using airplanes to get around. Airplanes are a form of mass transportation now， like trains and buses were in the past. More planes in the airport cause delays.

The airport in San Francisco is a good example. It is growing fast. Many people go through San Francisco to get to other places around the world.

Ron Wilson of the San Francisco International Airport says， “If you've got 18 flights that all want to take off at 8：00 a.m. and you're on the 18th plane in line， you're going to be 40 minutes late.”

Weather is another main reason for delays. Weather causes about 70% of delays. Fog or freezing rain can cause delays. The first thing the FAA wants to do is take control away from the regions during heavy traffic times and bad weather. A national center would make decisions on things that affect the whole country. The FAA also wants to put more distance between planes in the sky when the weather is bad. However， this role could cause even more delays.

The FAA knows that their solutions will not cure the problems with airport delays. But they hope to make things better. There are just too many planes， too few traffic controllers， and not enough new technology.

Answer the questions.

1. Why do airport delays cost billions in lost productivity？

A. People who have to wait for airplanes will quit buying tickets.

B. People who are waiting in airports are losing time at work.

C. When the FAA seizes control of airports， people will lose their jobs.

D. The delays force airport employees to earn overtime pay.

2. Why will the FAA take control away from regional airports？

A. To punish the airports for being late.

B. To prevent weather delays.

C. To make decisions on things that affect the whole country.

D. To make regions talk to each other more.

3. Why do airports in different regions operate differently？

A. They fly planes differently.

B. They speak different languages.

C. They don't take orders from the FAA.

D. They have set up their own rules over the years.