This year may bring more of the same. The Transportation Department received more than 800 complaints about delays or cancellations in January, the most recent month for which data are available. That was up nearly one-third from a year earlier. Several months ago, Parham rented a car and drove 15 hours back to Norfolk after being stranded in Miami by a canceled flight. Most problems for local travelers do not originate at Norfolk International Airport.
Analysts blame a handful of factors for the snags.
Weather is the most common cause of delays, and the past two years have seen particularly violent winter blizzards and summer thunderstorms. The healthy economy has pushed the number of passengers in the United States to all-time highs, jamming airports and airplanes. More than 538 million passengers boarded major carriers' domestic flights in 2000, according to the Air Transport Association trade group. That was up 3.7 percent from the record 1999. The infrastructure is being stretched to its limits to accommodate this traffic,'' said Robert Windle, a University of Maryland economist who studies the aviation industry.