A report released by the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) last Wednesday left some students worried about their Spring Break travel plans.

The FAA reported last week that the number of flight delays in the nation increased by 20 percent with a record high of 450,289 delays last year. Students such as Michael Hahn (senior-mechanical engineering) are worried the trend might affect their tight Spring Break schedule.

"Our flight to Panama City has one connection with a very small layover time," said Hahn. "Spring break is one of the busiest travel times of the year, and if we get delayed and miss our connection, it'll be very difficult to get on another flight."

According to the FAA report, the large number of weather delays last year was due primarily to thunderstorms, whose number and location were more disruptive than usual. The second leading cause of delays was due to flight volume, which rose 42.3 percent since last year.

Jon Schaeffer (junior-journalism) said he was delayed over winter break due to snowstorms, which created overbooked flights.

"My family and I were bumped to another flight and had to wait four hours due to snow and icy weather conditions," Schaeffer said. "Even though it was a hassle, we were lucky because we missed the big snowstorm, which almost caused the airport to shut down."

LaGuardia airport in New York was responsible for more than 25 percent of the increase with the most delays in the country. Also ranked in the top five are Newark International Airport in New Jersey and Philadelphia International Airport.

Northwest Airlines, one of the three airlines that flies into State College, was ranked ninth of the lowest percentage of on-time flights, according to an air travel consumer report released by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The Air Transport Association (ATA), the trade association for leading U.S. airlines, is calling on the government to help improve delays.

"We all know that there is a severe delay problem and the FAA is working hard to reduce delays. But, delays can be reduced and the airline industry stands ready to assist the government in any way we can," said ATA President Carol Hallett in a press release. "The airline industry is calling on President Bush to make aviation a national priority and to speed up improvements in our aviation infrastructure."

The FAA is currently in the middle of restructuring the routes in the sky, Arlene Salac, FAA spokesperson for the Eastern Region said.

"The current routes were made 30-40 years ago when there was less air traffic," Salac said. "Now, with planes with greater capabilities and satellite navigation we can redesign the airspace and increase efficiency."

The FAA also reported that runway and taxiway construction and repair work contributed to delays at airports in Boston, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston Intercontinental, LaGuardia and Phoenix.