In the case, good weather operational capacity (i.e., both arrivals and departures) was around 120 planes per hour. Assuming that the number of arrivals approximately equals the number of departures, we obtain an average arrival capacity of 60 planes per hour. Although there are three runways in operation during good weather, only two of them are used for arrivals, which imply that each arrival runway has an hourly capacity of 30 planes per hour. During the peak period, arrival rates generally range from 44.5 planes per hour to a little over 60 planes per hour.

The FAA has reported an estimate for delay costs to the airlines. According to this report, for a 15 seat turboprop airplane it costs the airlines around $352 per plane per hour due to operating expenses and extra ground crew time, while for a representative 150-seat plane these delay cost totals to $1,590 per plane per hour. You can assume that the corresponding cost for regional jets is $672 per plane per hour (regional jets have 50 seats on average).

However this report does not consider the costs to airline passengers created by delays (such as missed meetings, events, or inconvenience). Airlines may suffer more due to these delays in terms of foregone revenue, as dissatisfied customers switch to alternative means of transportation or forego travel altogether. The Air Transport Association (a major airline industry group), has however, used a $30.9 per hour estimate as the value of a passenger’s time in its estimates of annual delay costs. According to FAA definition a flight is delayed only if it arrives (or departs) more than fifteen minutes past