Eurocontrol: 'Reactionary' delays account for 45% of total in 2016

Eurocontrol stated (08-Mar-2017) the average calculated delay on arrival in Europe reduced by 3.9 minutes in 2016. Eurocontrol reported:

• "Reactionary" delays accounted for 45% of the total in 2016. Reactionary delays were defined as late arrival of the incoming aircraft, or connecting flight/crew/cargo. Eurocontrol stated eliminating delay on the first one or two morning flights of a particular aircraft could benefit all the passengers using that aircraft over the next 15 hours;
• "Airline" delays accounted for 30% of the total. Airline delays include delays in boarding, baggage handling, aircraft cleaning, fuelling, catering technical defects, issues with documentation and late crew boarding. [more - original PR]