Analysis of New York LaGuardia Airport Gate-waiting Delays

Airport gates are a potential source of congestion in the air transportation system. When an arriving flight cannot be accommodated at its assigned gate, the flight is considered to experience a "gate-waiting delay". A functional analysis of gate-waiting delays at New York Laguardia airport (LGA) for 92 days in the summer of 2007 was conducted. The analysis showed that excessive gate-waiting delays are a rare phenomenon. There were 12 of the 92 days in which the significant gate-waiting delays occurred (i.e. total daily gate-waiting delays greater than 12 hours). The gate-waiting delays can be attributed to: (1) a disrupted arrival schedule resulting in compressed arrivals in excess of the gate availability on 8 of the 12 days, (2) gate occupancy times in excess of scheduled turn-around time on 1 of the 12 days, (3) unused gate capacity when aircraft are waiting for gates on all 12 days. The implications of these delays and mitigation strategies are discussed.