JFK drops off list of most-delayed U.S. airports

John F. Kennedy International Airport has long been a joke in terms of on time departures and arrivals. But there are signs that JFK might be getting better.

The Associated Press is reporting that JFK is finally off the list of the country’s 50 most-delayed airports, while previously it was a perennial Top 3 contender. The secret? It finished 2007 strong, with 73 percent of all flights arriving and departing on time between Nov. 1 and Jan. 31, 2008, the AP says. That’s up from 67 percent.

O.K., so that’s not going to have travelers rushing to reroute their trips through Kennedy. But that should still give us all hope of greater improvements to come.

The U.S. Dept. of Transportation reportedly targeted New York City airspace for a massive improvement initiative starting around Thanksgiving last year, which, among other things, included allowing commercial flights to use military airspace, the AP says.

The Federal Aviation Administration also jumped on the bandwagon in December with its own plans to overhaul NY airspace.

There’s still more in the offing. By the end of this week, DOT is expected to begin cutting the number of hourly flights at JFK from 100 to 83, which means less flights at the most congested times, the AP reports.

Still, it seems that there is little in the way of good news to report over at Newark Liberty International Airport, which topped the 2007 most-delayed list. It hasn’t seemed to improve a lick.

What’s the worst airport in the U.S.? Let us know.