Airfield Delay Even in the midst of complications related to Converging Runway Operations, MSP’s location in the snow belt and a small increase in operations in 2017, British air travel consulting firm OAG named MSP the best in the world in its size category for on-time flights, with 85.7 percent of flights operating on time (within 15 minutes of their scheduled flight times). Airport delay can be measured in several ways. This section reviews MSP delay metrics as they are reported by the FAA. The FAA Air Traffic Operations Network (OPSNET) database counts flights that were reported by Air Traffic Control (ATC) to be delayed for more than 15 minutes. Figure A-2 on the following page, depicts the annual number of MSP flights delayed by ATC from 2008 through 2017. In 2008, the FAA made significant modifications to its reporting rules that affect historical data comparisons. The FAA now combines arrival and enroute delays into one category and reports delays for aircraft that accumulate 15 minutes or more holding delay at each facility throughout the entire route of flight. Delays of fewer than 15 minutes are not counted; nor are delays not initiated by ATC. In addition, since delays are reported by each airport facility, a flight that was delayed by 13 minutes at one airport facility and 12 minutes by another airport facility (for a total delay of 25 minutes) was not included in the OPSNET database prior to October 1, 2008. These data limitations should be kept in mind when reviewing OPSNET delay. In 2017, there were 1,628 delayed flights at MSP, a reduction of 3,330 from the number of flights delayed in 2016. In 2015 and 2016 delays at MSP largely were attributed to the implementation of new RNAV/RNP arrival procedures in March and April 2015 and implementation of new CRO requirements beginning in August 2015. Average Delay per Aircraft Operation When calculating the average delay per aircraft operation, airport- attributable delay is estimated by comparing a flight’s actual air and taxi times with estimated unconstrained times. The total cumulative amount of delay experienced by all scheduled flights in the database is then divided by the total number of flights in the database for the same time period. The output is usually expressed in minutes of delay per operation. The current industry standard for estimating delay relies on the FAA’s ASPM data, which provide a comprehensive analysis of 1 Prior to 2005, the industry standard was the FAA’s Consolidated Operations and Delay Analysis System (CODAS); the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Airline Service Quality Performance (ASQP) data were used to compare optimal versus actual taxi and flight times for MSP. Top 25 Large Hub Airports with Highest Average Total Delay Per Operation Table A-2 Rank Airport 2017 Total 2017 Average Minutes 2016 Average Minutes 2016 Rank Change from Airports Operations of Delay per Operation of Delay per Operation 2016 to 2017 1 LGA 366,018 12.3 11.9 1 0.4 2 CLT 553,817 9.8 9.1 2 0.7 3 JFK 453,335 9.7 8.9 4 0.9 4 ORD 867,049 9.4 9.0 3 0.4 5 EWR 443,649 9.1 7.7 7 1.4 6 PHL 369,928 9.0 7.4 9 1.6 7 LAX 700,362 8.9 7.8 6 1.1 8 SFO 460,346 8.8 6.5 11 2.2 9 DCA 299,360 7.9 7.8 5 0.1 10 DFW 654,344 7.8 7.6 8 0.2 11 SEA 416,136 7.4 5.9 13 1.5 12 MIA 413,287 6.4 6.6 10 -0.2 13 IAH 450,323 6.1 6.2 12 -0.1 14 BOS 405,822 5.9 5.4 17 0.4 15 IAD 294,066 5.7 5.4 16 0.3 16 RDU 202,348 5.6 5.2 19 0.5 17 PHX 430,968 5.5 5.7 14 -0.2 18 DEN 582,486 5.4 5.3 18 0.1 19 MSP 415,703 5.4 5.5 15 -0.1 20 ATL 879,498 5.2 4.8 22 0.4 21 MCO 338,278 5.2 5.1 20 0.1 22 DTW 395,357 5.1 5.1 21 0.0 23 FLL 312,763 5.0 4.1 31 0.9 24 DAL 227,533 4.8 4.6 24 0.1 25 MEM 223,357 4.8 4.4 26 0.3 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 2008* 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 *This total is reported differently in 2008 due to FAA adjusting the way air traffic control calculates delays for arriving and departing flights. Source: Federal Aviation Adminstration Opsnet. MSP Flights Delayed by ATC* 2008 - 2017 Figure A-2 1,582 Runway 12L-30R closed for reconstruction Converging Runway Operations & RNAV Arrival Implementation Converging Runway Operations 1,968 1,720 1,099 1,625 731 7,880 5,514 4,958 1,628 viii ix