What is the cause of air traffic delays?

Ugh, air traffic delays! Don’t even get me started. I swear, I’ve spent what feels like half my life stuck in airports, staring at departure boards that never seem to change. It’s the absolute worst, isn’t it? And yeah, nine times out of ten, it seems like the weather is to blame. “Oh, there’s a bit of fog in Chicago,” they announce, as if a tiny bit of fog should ground every flight in the country! You’d think, right? With all our fancy technology these days, we could, I don’t know, invent a way around a little rain or wind. Remember that time we were flying back from Florida? Delayed for six hours because of a thunderstorm! Six hours! We could have driven halfway home in that time. So, yeah, while they might tell you there are all these different reasons for delays, like mechanical problems or air traffic control issues (which, let’s be honest, sounds super vague), it really does feel like good old Mother Nature is the biggest culprit. I read somewhere that weather accounts for something like 30-40% of all delays… or maybe it was more? I can’t remember exactly, but it’s a lot. It’s enough to make you want to just give up and drive everywhere. Though, I guess traffic jams are just another kind of delay, aren’t they? Sigh. The struggle is real.