Panel: Flight delays cost U.S. $41 billion in 2007

Domestic flight delays cost the U.S. economy $41 billion and consumed about 740 million additional gallons of jet fuel in 2007, according to a report by the Joint Economic Committee.

Comment on this article in The Forum.Announcing the results today, Joint Economic Chairman Charles Schumer of New York blasted FAA, which he said was responsible for the bulk of delays.

"The FAA is just mind-boggling in their refusal to really deal with the problem," Schumer said.

The analysis of more than 10 million flights found that weather and security issues accounted for just 6 percent of delays. Schumer and Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., expressed concern that rising fuel prices would prompt more carriers to follow American Airlines and begin charging customers extra for checked baggage. Schumer said bringing down the price of oil would help, but he criticized FAA for failing to update its system and hire an adequate number of flight controllers.

Tammy Jones, a spokeswoman for the FAA, declined to comment on the report but said that her agency's data point to weather as the major reason for delays.