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Expect delays: an analysis of air travel trends in the United States
nation (October 8, 2009) — Robert Puentes and Adie Tomer, The Brookings Institute
In a recent analysis of the commercial air travel patterns between 1900 and 2009, the following points were determined:
*Air passenger travel in the United States experience its first annualized drop in September 2008 since the tragedy of September 11, 2001, and the decline has continued through March 2009.
* Nearly 99 percent of all US air passengers arrive or depart from one of the 100 largest metropolitan areas, with a vast majority of travel concentrated in 26 metropolitan hubs.
* Half of the country’s flights are routes of less than 500 miles, and the busiest corridors travel between the metropolitan hubs.
* The 26 metropolitan hubs and other large metropolitan areas host a concentration of national delays—and the situation is worsening over time.
Recommendations for alleviating this growing problem suggest that policymakers must focus aviation investments and other infrastructure investments on metropolitan hubs and short-haul corridors, and therefore, strengthening the performance of nation's major economic centers.
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