2.3 Economics
Aviation in the United States today is a multi-billion dollar enterprise, built upon fast, efficient transportation. Commercial airlines, air cargo, corporate/executive planes, and assorted private aircraft continuously fly the sky carrying an endless stream of people and goods. Takeoff/landing delays or closures of airports due to adverse weather can very quickly cause extra consumption of expensive fuel and disrupt the arrival schedules of passengers, crew, and freight at other airports.
The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) tracks the on-time performance of domestic flights operated by large air carriers.
Flight delays caused by weather along with additional information on the number of on-time, delayed, canceled and diverted flights can be found on this website.
[Source: U.S. Congressional Joint Economic Committee. (2008, May). Your Flight Has Been Delayed Again. Washington, DC.
The economic and societal impacts of weather on the airline industry are tremendous. All of the NWS aviation forecasts and services provided to the different sectors of the airline industry help them make better decisions for flight operations.