Six Delta flights late 80% of the time in February

Six of Delta Air Lines’ daily Atlanta flights arrived late 80 percent of the time or more in February, according to a U.S. Department of Transportation report.

The chronically delayed flights included Savannah-Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale-Atlanta and Atlanta-Newark flights on Delta, two Delta Connection Atlanta-San Antonio flights operated by SkyWest Airlines and a Delta Connection Tallahassee-Atlanta flight operated by Pinnacle Airlines.

The Savannah-Atlanta flight was the most frequently delayed flight in the country in February, arriving late 94.1 percent of the time.

The DOT listed 20 chronically late flights nationwide. It is unusual for Atlanta flights to comprise such a big chunk of the list.

Some of the oft-delayed flights were affected by morning congestion in Atlanta, according to Delta, which said it has addressed the issue in discussions with the Federal Aviation Administration.

Overall, airlines improved their on-time performance in February, the DOT said, with an on-time arrival rate of 82.6 percent in February, up from 68.6 percent a year earlier.

Hartsfield-Jackson improved its on-time performance rate to 80.5 percent in February, up from 70.8 percent a year earlier, though its ranking dropped to No. 26 from No. 14 as other airports also posted improvements.

With 82.6 percent of flights arriving on time in February, Delta had the fifth highest on-time arrival rate among the 19 airlines ranked and made $6 million in incentive payments to employees for their February performance, or about $100 per eligible employee.