An Increase in Travelers Getting Stuck at the Gate Leads to Change

The night before I start getting ready for my vacation. I pack my bag with thoughts of laying on a beach, soaking up the sun, and enjoying a week long vacation that is worth every bit of any travel headaches.

The following morning I rise nice and early, pack everything in the car and head off to the airport. After driving around the airport parking lot for what seems to be forever, I finally find a spot to leave the vehicle behind. I jump on the bus which takes me to the area where I can check into the airline that chose to fly with for this specific vacation.

I walk up to the counter, hand over all the necessary information, pay all the fees that are now being tacked on for checking luggage and off I go towards my gate. But wait you can't get to the gate just yet, now I go through the screening process known as security.

So I get padded down (or felt up depending on who does it), take my shoes off, belt, and whatever else they ask for and then finally I am on my way.

I get to the gate ready for this vacation to begin and bam! The flight is delayed. If the process just to get to the gate wasn't time consuming enough, now the flight is delayed, and so is my vacation.

What makes matters even worse is finally getting on the plan only to be delayed to my vacation even more as the plane waits for its turn to get to the take off strip. This routine is called more commonly known as "taxing up to the runway".

According to the Wall Street Journal, "air travelers in the U.S. spend about 20 percent of travel time stuck at the gate due to delayed taxi lines at an annual cost to the economy of $41 billion."

In today's economic crunch imagine what the economy can do with an extra $41 billion dollars. Because of this recurring problem, Congress has decided to act and the Transportation Secretary offered this in a recent article in the eastern edition of the Wall Street Journal, "additional and altered routes would give a chance to beat delays but consumers face the prospect of fewer flight options and higher fares."

No one really knows when or if ever delays at the airports will improve, but one thing is for sure, not even a long delay should ever dampen your spirits as you head off to your vacation. Coming home? That is another story.

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the senior editor for Vacation Nation, an online vacation resource where you can learn about various destinations and travel tips.