3 Hours To Go 1 Mile: The JFK Taxi Nightmare That Trapped Delta Passengers

Passengers on board a Delta Air Lines Boeing 767-300ER flight from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) had to endure a frustrating wait upon landing at New York John F Kennedy International (JFK) on Sunday evening. Having touched down an hour behind schedule, those on board the lengthy transcontinental flight were then faced with a three-hour taxi, as adverse weather and staff shortages combined to worsen the congestion.

This considerable delay, which was far from the only instance of an aircraft having to taxi for multiple hours amid Sunday’s operational disruption at New York JFK Airport, also had a knock-on effect, with the return flight back to San Francisco also being hit hard. Let’s take a closer look at what happened.

So Close, Yet So Far

Delta Air Lines flight DL405 is a daily scheduled transcontinental departure that is supposed to leave San Francisco International Airport at 7:00 am. The journey’s block time is planned for five hours and 29 minutes, which, accounting for the three-hour time difference between the East and West Coast of the United States of America, gives it a scheduled arrival in New York of 3:29 pm local time. On Sunday, however, this was not the case.

According to Flightradar24, the flight departed just over an hour late, at 8:19 am, and managed to make up some of this time by touching down exactly an hour behind schedule at 4:29 pm. However, on account of adverse winter weather and staff shortages at JFK, congestion on the ground meant that, after taking a circuitous taxi route, it didn’t reach its gate until almost three hours later, at 7:27 pm. According to Business Insider, Delta said:

“Winter weather conditions impacting taxiways at JFK contributed to flight delays [on] Sunday evening. Safety is always our top priority, and we appreciate our customers’ patience during this period and apologize for the delay in their travels.”

Not Your Average Transcontinental Flight

As pictured above, Delta Air Lines flight DL405 took a fairly direct cross-country route from San Francisco International Airport to New York JFK on Sunday, flying from west to east as planned. Tracking data made available by Flightradar24 shows that it was in the air for a grand total of four hours and 59 minutes, meaning that its two-hour and 58-minute taxi took approximately 59.53% as long as the lengthy transcontinental flight itself.

In recent days, this flight has been in the air for as little as four hours and 40 minutes, which would have seen the taxi time represent an even greater proportion. As previously mentioned, it was 7:27 pm local time by the time the aircraft made it to the gate, which, unfortunately, was two minutes after the scheduled departure time for the return leg back to San Francisco (DL667). In the end, this flight would also end up leaving three hours late.

Indeed, N193DN, the Boeing 767-300ER operating this rotation, only took to the skies above the ‘Big Apple’ at 10:28 pm, compared to a scheduled departure time of 7:25 pm. It was due into San Francisco at 11:05 pm that evening, but, on account of the delayed departure, where congestion relating to adverse weather and staff issues was also likely a factor, it only touched down at 1:06 am the next day, just over two hours late.

Disruption Was Widespread At The Weekend

As it happens, Delta Air Lines flight DL405 was far from the only service to experience a significant delay while on the ground after landing at JFK. Indeed, as Simple Flying reported earlier today, DL5052 from Charlotte (CLT), which was already three hours late, had to taxi for more than three hours on Sunday.

The events of the past weekend, when Delta Air Lines canceled 250 mainline flights and delayed more than 1,000 others on Sunday alone, highlight the fragilities of the hub-and-spoke network model. Indeed, while it had to contend with ground stops at both New York JFK Airport and nearby LaGuardia due to adverse weather and staff shortages, the nature of its network meant that the ripples of this disruption were felt across the US.