EXCLUSIVE: US airlines set for worst year EVER with more than 1 million delayed departures so far in 2023 – nearly a QUARTER of all flights – fueling fears of holiday chaos

US airlines are on track for one of the worst years on record for flight delays, according to official data from DailyMail.com.

Airlines have booked a million delayed departures in record time in 2023 and almost a quarter of flights so far this year have departed late, the figures show.

The dismal data adds to a series of problems plaguing the aviation industry this year, including mass cancellations, chronic staff shortages, a series of near misses and the use of counterfeit jet engine parts in dozens of large commercial aircraft.

The findings will also fuel fears of travel chaos during the busy Thanksgiving and holiday season, when tens of millions of Americans will fly across the country to celebrate with their loved ones. A recent survey shows that half of Americans plan to book a flight or hotel this holiday, adding to the pressure on the struggling sector.

DailyMail.com reviewed flight departure data from the Bureau of Transport Statistics, which tracks the country’s major airlines. The agency defines a delayed departure as a departure leaving the gate 15 minutes or more after the scheduled time.

From January to August this year, the period for which the most up-to-date data is available, 22.33 percent of flights were delayed. The total number of delayed departures was 1,015,057.

The previous annual record was set in 2007, when 21.1 percent of flights were delayed, putting 2023 on track to set a new record.

The Bureau of Transport Statistics data includes annual breakdowns for every year from 1988 to the present.

It is believed that the eight-month time span it took to hit a million delays is also the shortest on record. The previous record was in 2007, when it took until September to pass 1 million delayed departures.

Data on delayed arrivals paints a similarly bleak picture. Between January and August 2023, 22.52 percent of arrivals were 15 minutes or more late, the highest rate for that period since at least 2014.

In 2007, the worst year for delayed arrivals, 24.20 percent of flights were delayed for the entire year.

Massive delays and cancellations this summer contributed to the dismal figures. Pictured: Travelers wait on the floor of a departure lounge at LaGuardia Airport on June 27, 2023

Separate data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics also shows that as delays have increased, airline ticket prices have crept above their pre-coronavirus record levels after a dip during the pandemic. Passengers now have to pay more for worse service.

The average price of a domestic fare was $391.79 in the second quarter of 2023, compared to $357.07 for the same period in 2019.

The terrible delay statistics come after a summer of chaos and misery and a chronic crisis at America’s airports staff shortages after COVID and extreme weather conditions.

The Fourth of July holiday was plagued by thousands of cancellations. United Airlines was criticized after its passengers suffered the most, leaving many stranded at airports.

Weeks earlier, storms around the East Coast and the Midwest also caused massive disruptions, canceling nearly 10,000 flights in one week.

Airlines started 2023 with a shortage of about 17,000 pilots, while the Federal Aviation Authority had a shortage of 3,000 air traffic controllers. There was also a shortage of thousands of technicians.

Travelers wait for their bags amid lines of unclaimed luggage in the United Airlines baggage claim area at Los Angeles International Airport on June 29, 2023 in Los Angeles, California

The industry typically trains about 1,500 to 1,800 new pilots each year. Training a pilot can also take two years or more and cost more than $100,000.

This year’s acute staff shortages were partly due to mass layoffs during the corona crisis, which were not reversed quickly enough as the sector recovered when lockdowns were lifted.

After the chaos this summer, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg opened a federal investigation into airlines for what he called “unrealistic planning,” or scheduling more flights than airlines can safely operate.

Officials at the Federal Aviation Administration, which sets safety guidelines for the industry, have also taken action after a worrying series of near misses at airports and in the air this year.

There was also widespread disbelief when it emerged in September that dozens of aircraft used by the country’s largest airlines were fitted with uncertified jet engine parts

Agency bosses are holding ‘runway safety meetings’ with air traffic controllers at the country’s most problematic airports after a spate of 46 close calls in January alone.

In the most serious incidents, planes carrying hundreds of passengers are just meters away from a collision that could have caused enormous loss of life.

And there was also widespread disbelief among industry insiders and the public in September when it emerged that dozens of planes used by the country’s major airlines were fitted with uncertified jet engine parts.

A British supplier, AOG Technics, is alleged to have sold parts with falsified security credentials to jet engine maintenance companies, and these parts ended up in at least 126 commercial aircraft.

Leading US airlines including Delta and United have been forced to ground planes affected by the scandal and a global investigation is underway to identify other planes fitted with the suspect parts. Aircraft in Europe, Australia and China have also been affected.