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Table 1-59: Major U.S. Air Carrier Delays, Cancellations, and Diversions

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  1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 R2000 2001
TOTAL operations 5,202,096 5,041,200 5,270,893 5,076,925 5,092,157 5,070,501 5,180,048 5,327,435 5,351,983 5,411,843 5,384,721 5,527,884 5,683,047 5,967,780
Late departures 730,712 883,167 753,182 621,509 617,148 661,056 729,960 919,839 1,102,484 944,633 1,014,904 1,091,584 1,319,153 1,180,673
Late arrivals 1,042,452 1,208,470 1,087,774 890,068 902,567 931,437 960,254 1,141,647 1,362,702 1,193,678 1,227,741 1,320,591 1,557,784 1,343,608
Cancellations 50,163 74,165 52,458 43,505 52,836 59,845 66,740 91,905 128,536 97,763 144,509 154,311 187,490 231,198
Diversions 14,436 14,839 15,954 12,585 11,384 10,333 12,106 10,492 14,121 12,081 13,161 13,555 14,254 12,909

KEY: R = Revised.

NOTES: Late departures and arrivals are strongly seasonal and are affected by weather and heavy demand in winter and summer months. The term "late" is defined as 15 minutes after the scheduled departure or arrival time. Major air carriers are the 10 largest U.S. air carriers. A cancelled flight is one that was not operated, but was listed in a carrier's computer reservation system within seven calendar days of the scheduled departure. A diverted flight is one that left from the scheduled departure airport but flew to a destination point other than the scheduled destination point.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Airline Information, Airline Service Quality Performance data.