Cancelled flights from winter storm that blanketed areas of the Northeast with snow earlier this week cost the U.S. economy an estimated $230 million in passengers' lost activity, according to economists at the U.S. Travel Association, a trade group.
The $230 million reflects what passengers on cancelled flights would have spent during their travels and injected into the economy; it does not include the overall economic impact on the airline industry, the association said, adding that due to discrepancies in how each carrier tabulates its costs, there is no industry-wide data available for the airline sector.
The economic loss figure of $230 million is based on approximately 7,300 domestic flights cancelled due to the recent storm, the group said, noting that each cancelled domestic flight costs the economy $31,600, a figure derived from a formula that its researchers developed last year to highlight air travel infrastructure issues.
U.S. Travel said its estimates are based on a combination of airline traffic and on-time data; air traveler behavior and characteristics data collected through its surveys; the monthly TravelsAmerica survey conducted by research firm TNS; and the association’s own proprietary economic models.
"Storms that affect travel are a fact of life, but being able to calculate the exact economic impact is valuable for how we prepare for them as a nation," Roger Dow, president and chief executive of U.S. Travel said in a statement.
Delayed flights take a financial toll, too, the group said.
Every hour a flight is delayed, the cost to the U.S. economy is an average of $3,300 in passenger-related economic activity, according to the association’s recent research.
"Our air travel infrastructure has been falling behind the rest of the world for years, and Washington cannot agree on how we pay for sorely needed improvements,” Dow added. “When an event like Juno comes along, it's important for politicians and the public to realize that there is a serious cost to consumers and the economy, which we could help mitigate with infrastructure investments."
