And my promise is to do whatever it takes to keep it that way. Our air traffic system is up and running 99.4 percent of the time, every day of the year. That's better than a decade ago when the figure was 98.6 percent, and the equipment was newer. Now I want 100 percent that's the goal. And I think our strategy will get us there.
Passengers also care about delays.
That's where prediction of changing weather conditions is important. Winds, for example, frequently shift direction, forcing air traffic controllers to redirect aircraft preparing to land or takeoff. When that happens, traffic backs up, planes are delayed, and people miss connecting flights. Doppler radar helps prevent those kinds of holdups for the 45,000 passengers who use National every day. It enables controllers to detect wind shifts earlier, giving them time to re-route traffic and limit delays.