There were no super-long tarmac delays for airlines in December, making 2014 the best year on record for the fewest such incidents.
The U.S. Department of Transportation said Tuesday that for all of 2014, there were 30 domestic flights with ground delays topping three hours. Under rules that took effect in 2010, airlines can be fined for such long delays.
The department said that in the year before the rules were put into place, there were 868 domestic flights stuck on the ground for more than three hours.
“These tarmac delay rules are meant to protect passengers, and it appears that the airlines have gotten the message,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.
Also, cancelations fell and on-time ratings improved in December compared with the previous year, when an early winter storm snarled traffic in the southern plains states.