FAA Expands Online Alerts of Airport Delays

On the tailwind of its study predicting another summer of congested air traffic, the Federal Aviation Administration has expanded its Web site on airport delays and added e-mail notification.

FAA spokesman William Shumann emphasized that the Internet site, https://www.fly.faa.gov, updated daily, gives general information on airport delays caused by weather and other factors; it does not list which flights have been delayed or canceled. (Some airlines make such flight information available through their Web sites or by e-mail.)

Last month the FAA expanded from 39 to 298 the number of airports listed on the year-old Web site. And earlier this month it began offering the same information via e-mail accessible by pagers, cell phones and PDAs. To sign up for the wireless service, click on the “Products” button on the Web site and select “Aviation Information System.”

In its study last month, the FAA said air traffic backups this summer could match those of last summer, which inconvenienced millions.