Definition
Delays to flight operations caused by weather conditions that reduce airport or airspace capacity, such as low ceilings, reduced visibility, thunderstorms, snow, ice, or strong crosswinds. These delays may take the form of ground stops, ground delay programs, airborne holding, or rerouting around affected areas, and are managed within the National Airspace System to keep traffic flow within safe and workable limits.
Plain English
When weather makes it harder or unsafe to operate normally, flights get held on the ground, slowed down, sent on longer routes, or asked to hold in the air until things improve.
Context Anchor
Seen in air traffic planning, flight releases, instrument flight operations, and NextGen discussions about improving traffic flow during bad weather.
Why Pilots Care
These delays affect scheduling, fuel reserves, and can lead to diversions or cancellations if not managed properly.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as only meaning a flight is late because it is raining at the airport. In aviation, weather-related delays can come from weather anywhere that affects the route, arrival flow, departure flow, or available airspace.
Example Sentence 1
Thunderstorms over the arrival corridor caused weather-related delays of up to two hours into the New York metro airports.
Example Sentence 2
NextGen technologies aim to minimize weather-related delays by providing better real-time data to controllers and pilots.