And they're really ticked off. It's a strain on staff. Recently, Moran said, one aggravated customer threw a glass of milk at a restaurant worker. Restaurants are not the only flash points. Airport gates designed for partially full, smaller planes overflow with people waiting for sold-out widebodies.
Parking is insufficient at many airports.
Garages and lots fill early, driving passengers farther and farther from the airport. Takeoffs have been delayed there because of heavy air traffic, airport construction and bad weather. Delays at Newark have been so bad some days that Continental Airlines, which has a hub there, has transferred passengers on flights within the Northeast to trains. Rather than wait hours to take off, passengers ride a bus to Newark's Amtrak station and board trains for Boston, Philadelphia or other points in the Northeast corridor. It's faster than flying.