While you can’t control the weather or mechanical problems that could cause a plan to be delayed, there are a few things you can control, such as flying during off-peak hours, choosing non-stop flights, and booking your DTW airport parking ahead of time.
Check out this guide on how to avoid flight delays and prepare for them just in case.
Common Causes of Flight Delays
Many factors will impact an airline’s arrival and departure schedule. The most common are:
- Unsafe weather conditions
- Natural disasters
- Crew or pilot issues
- Mechanical and maintenance problems
- Air traffic congestion
- Limited runway space
- Security problems/mandatory evacuations
- Airline or airport errors
- Ripple effects caused by other delayed flights
7 Tips to Avoiding Flight Delays
Following are some top tips to help ensure you have an on-time departure:
- Choose nonstop flights whenever you can. If you can’t avoid a connecting flight, look for longer layover times so as to compensate for any potential delays.
- Fly earlier or later when flying during busy travel periods such as spring break or the winter holidays. These peak times often come with delays, so try to book your flight to arrive early or late during those times.
- Pay attention to the weather. For instance, avoid the Gulf of Mexico during hurricane season, or New England in January when snowstorms are common. Also, weather-related cancellations are more likely to affect flights to and from smaller towns, as international flights will take priority.
- Don’t fly at the beginning or end of the week. Ideally, you want to travel on Tuesdays and Wednesdays due to lighter air traffic.
- Fly in the morning if you can, as this is when flights have the highest chance of being on time. As the day goes on, there are ripple effects caused by flight delays form other planes. Also, weather events tend to be more common later in the day, such as afternoon thunderstorms in Orlando, for instance, which can introduce even more delays.
- Research your airport carefully, avoiding those known for excessive delays like New York City area airports or LAX. You may want to look into smaller airports in surrounding areas for less congestion.
- Arrive to the airport early, obey all baggage and security rules, have your documents and boarding passes ready to be scanned, and make sure your carry-on bags can be easily searched. Don’t hold up your own flight by being late or unprepared!
Resources For Flight Delay Predictions
Always check your arrival and departure time so you can be prepared for any possible delays. Get current real-time flight delay info on national airports from FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center. Also, check out this handy interactive map that shows you the best and worst airports for flight delays globally.
Call Valet Connections DTW Parking
One of the best ways to avoid delays is to stick to your own personal timeline so you’re not late to your own flight. And the best way to achieve that is to book your valet service or DTW parking well before your flight. One of the biggest reasons people are late to their gate is because they can’t find parking when they arrive at the airport. We can help with that part. Call us (734) 992-4946 to book valet services and parking.