Extended tarmac delays: just 3 in June

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics said the three delayed flights with passengers stuck on runways were all United Airlines flights from June 18 during a severe thunderstorm. None of the tarmac delays lasted more than five minutes over the three-hour limit, the BTS said.

June was the second month in which the BTS took official count of the statistic for a regular monthly report. In May, there were five flights with tarmac delays that exceeded the three-hour limit. However, the BTS said Tuesday that "four of the five flights were misreported by the airline."

Airlines have made a quick improvement in the extensive delay factor, which has provoked scathing reports in the past with passengers seemingly stranded for hours inside idled planes. In May 2009, there were 34 reported incidents of planes sitting for more than three hours on runways, the BTS said.

The BTS said the on-time performance, measuring flights among 18 airlines that are less than 15 minutes late on scheduled arrival times, was 75.4 percent in June.

Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).