Yesterday, a scorching Boston hit 95 degrees and nobody flying out of Logan expected quite so many delayed departures between the hours of 4:59 PM and 6:02 PM. Despite reports of a looming rain storm threatening the city and Logan Airport, nearly nobody knew when it would hit. Suddenly, the sky darkened, temps dropped to 79 degrees and a wall of rain sloshed down, snarling ground transportation and air traffic.
Could this could have been predicted? Tons of flights departing Logan were delayed between the hours of 4:59 and 6:02 PM! The rest of the evening was a total wash.
The summer sees a large share of air traffic delays due to thunderstorms. Plus, when the sun is shining it’s hard to imagine that it might rain — so it feels more unexpected for passengers to get stuck in a weather-related delay. Today, certain airlines are using a new technology, HyperCast to know exactly when the nasty weather will hit — and reduce delays dramatically. This is leading to a better passenger experience for all of us.
Published June 14th, 2017 by: Jacob Ribnik, PhD and Sophia Tupolev-Luz, Tomorrow.io
