Flight delays pile up Monday after FAA budget cuts
Source: AP-Excite
By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ
NEW YORK (AP) - It was a tough start to the week for many air travelers as federal budget cuts led to cascading delays along the East Coast Monday morning.
Some flights out of New York and Washington were delayed by more than two hours as the Federal Aviation Administration kept planes on the ground. The federal agency has said furloughs of air traffic controllers could lead to delays if there weren't enough people to monitor busy air corridors.
For instance, the 8 a.m. US Airways shuttle pushed back from the gate at Reagan National Airport six minutes early but didn't take off until 9:58 a.m. The plane landed at 10:48 a.m. - more than two and a half hours later than its scheduled time.
If travelers instead took Amtrak's 8 a.m. Acela Express train from Washington, they arrived in New York at 10:42 a.m. - 4 minutes early.
FULL story at link.
Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130422/DA5QL7000.html
In this July 10, 2012 file photo, a United plane prepares to land at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., with the New York City skyline in the background. Commercial airline flights moved smoothly throughout most of the country on Sunday, April 21, 2013, the first day air traffic controllers were subject to furloughs resulting from government spending cuts, though some delays appeared in the late evening in and around New York. The real test, however, will come Monday, when traffic ramps up. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)