Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)
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Table 1-59. Major U.S. Air Carrier Delays, Cancellations, and Diversions

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  1988 1989 1990 1991a 1992 1993 1994a 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000a
Late Departures 730,712 883,167 753,182 520,491 617,148 661,056 670,218 919,839 1,102,484 944,633 1,014,904 1,091,584 1,157,577
Late Arrivals 1,042,452 1,208,470 1,087,774 748,842 902,567 931,437 884,317 1,141,647 1,362,702 1,193,678 1,227,741 1,320,591 1,378,040
Cancellations 50,163 74,165 52,458 34,736 52,836 59,845 61,533 91,905 128,536 97,763 144,509 154,311 158,816
Diversions 14,436 14,839 15,954 10,279 11,384 10,333 11,245 10,492 14,121 12,081 13,161 13,555 12,774
Total Operations 5,202,096 5,041,200 5,270,893 4,259,689 5,092,157 5,070,501 4,744,532 5,327,435 5,351,983 5,411,843 5,384,721 5,527,884 5,196,611

a Data are incomplete; December data not yet available.

NOTES: Late departures and arrivals are strongly seasonal and are affected by weather and the 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.