DOT: May storms caused dozens of lengthy delays for Philadelphia flights

WASHINGTON – Airlines had a whopping 27 tarmac delays longer than three hours in May, nearly all of them on a single, stormy day in Philadelphia, according to a Transportation Department report Friday.

Twenty-four of the lengthy delays on May 25 included 17 planes waiting to depart Philadelphia and seven arrivals, according to the department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

American Airlines had 10 of the delays, including the longest at five hours and 18 minutes for a flight heading to Las Vegas.

"We are by far the largest operator in Philadelphia — it's one of our hubs — therefore we would have the most impact," said Ross Feinstein, an American spokesman. "The FAA air traffic controllers were doing their best, but the airspace around the airport was more severely impacted by severe thunderstorms that evening than anywhere else in the region."

Republic Airways, a regional carrier that flies as American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express, had six of the delays. Republic had the second-longest at nearly five hours for a flight to Memphis.

Weather has played havoc with flights during the spring. Delta Air Lines lost $125 million after canceling thousands of flights in early April after storms ripped through Atlanta. And hot weather in the Southwest is preventing flights from taking off.

Airlines can face fines for leaving passengers unable to get off planes during lengthy delays, and the department is investigating the May incidents.

The three lengthy delays that weren't in Philadelphia included two on May 3 — a United Airlines flight from Denver to New Orleans that diverted to Houston and an Alaska Airlines flight from Houston to Seattle — and a Republic flight from New York's LaGuardia airport to Memphis on May 25.

The department’s monthly Air Travel Consumer Report found generally that the airlines had a better month in May than April:

•Delays: Airlines had 79.1% of flights arrive within 15 minutes of their schedules, compared to 83.4% for the same month a year earlier and 78.5% in April.

•Cancellations: Airlines cancelled 0.8% of their domestic flights in May, compared to 0.5% for the same month a year earlier and 1.6% in April.

•Mishandled bags: Airlines mishandled bags at a rate of 2.32 per 1,000 passengers in May, compared to 2.4 for the same month a year earlier and 2.53 in April.

•Bumping: Airlines denied boarding to an average of 0.62 passengers for every 10,000 during the first three months of the year, which was the same rate as the first quarter of 2016.

•Complaints: The department received 1,779 complaints against airlines in May, a stark increase from 1,135 in the same month a year earlier, but down from 1,909 in April.