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1/6/2011 Houston -- Airline passengers throughout Houston might have been wondering why their flights were consistently more on-time at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) than at other like-sized airports across the country.

It wasn’t due to any act of coincidence, according to the United States Department of Transportation, which each month compiles statistics for on-time performance at the nation’s airports.

During the month of October 2010 no other airport in the U.S. arrived and departed flights more on-time than IAH.

Of the nation’s 30 largest airports, Bush Intercontinental averaged on-time departures for 91.44 percent and on-time arrivals for 91.42 percent of their flights, in comparison to a national average departure on-time performance of 83.8 percent, respectively.

“At Bush Intercontinental, the majority of our travelers are connecting from one flight to another. We work diligently with our airline partners to ensure that from the airport's perspective all is ready to support outstanding on-time capabilities," says Mary Case, airport general manager for Bush Intercontinental. “This recognition from the U.S. Department of Transportation is really a testament to the hundreds of airport employees who make it their personal mission to operate at a high performance and to be at our best to serve the traveling public.”

In addition, the nation’s airlines have also significantly reduced the amount of time flights are delayed. Since the federal government enacted new regulations restricting the amount of time occupied aircraft can sit on the tarmac without letting their passengers off, there have been significantly less such incidences.

Between May and October 2010 the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported only 12 tarmac delays of more than three hours by the 18 airlines that file such statistics – in comparison to 546 such delays during the same time period a year earlier.

In October 2010 alone, there were no flights reported with tarmac delays of more than three hours, down from a reported 11 flights in October 2009.


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