18 Airlines Adjust Schedules at 5 Airports

WASHINGTON —  The government has approved agreements worked out by 18 airlines to adjust schedules at five busy airports as a way to cut flight delays during the summer, Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Hanford Dole said Friday.

The voluntary agreements, most scheduled to take effect Monday, were reached at meetings supervised by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The schedule adjustments, spreading out flights from business hours to other times, affect operations at Atlanta Hartsfield, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth, Newark, N.J., and Philadelphia airports.

The FAA estimates that about 70% of the flight delays are caused by poor weather but says some of the problems are caused by unrealistic flight schedules. Many of the airlines are blaming the air traffic control system for the problems.