Have you ever sat in line at an airport waiting for takeoff for what seems like hours on end? I think we've all been there, be it from a passenger seat or in one of the pilot seats. Either way, we can all agree that an airline flight delay is one of the most frustrating travel experiences a person can go through! This is especially true if someone at the other end of your journey has taken time away from their own lives to come and pick you up from the airport.

So, let's talk about the anatomy of a flight delay.

Typically delays stem from airport congestion, both on the ground and in the airspace surrounding the airport. The FAA requires that air traffic controllers separate aircraft from each other by 3 nautical miles (a nautical mile is 6,080 feet) horizontal distance and 1,000 feet vertical distance when near an airport. In cruise flight, that distance increases to 5 nautical miles horizontal distance, while maintaining the 1,000 foot vertical separation rule.

Now, in order to comprehend just how far apart those airplanes really are, place a quarter on the floor, then measure out 12 feet away from it. Once you've measured that distance, place another quarter on the floor on that mark. Assuming both quarters represent the scale of airplanes that are 130 feet long, that's quite a lot of space in between the quarters! That represents the minimum 3 nautical mile horizontal separation required by the FAA. Now imagine a hundred of those quarters trying to stuff themselves into one point in an hour (the airport), while another hundred of those quarters are also trying to get out of that same point, with weather included. It's simply chaos!

Of course, each airline does the best they can to keep an on-time schedule. They want to get you off the ground just as much as you want to be off the ground! I know, it's very frustrating to be stuck in the terminal watching your airplane sit idly by, only to be told that your flight is simply "delayed." But it's important to note that pilots, flight attendants, and gate agents often have very little information beyond that to give to the passengers. The delay is passed down from air traffic control, who often don't give us, the pilots, all of the information about the delay!

So, hopefully this has given you a better (albeit basic) understanding of how an airline filght delay occurs. Please be patient this travel season; you'll get there eventually, and nobody needs the high blood pressure!