Originally Posted by Intrepid

A flight delay due to "air traffic control" is a fig leaf. I won't take this "reason/excuse" seriously. Never did.
Many things are hidden under a fig leaf.
Pick your choice. Enjoy yourself while you are picking (peeking, peaking).

Originally Posted by USFlyer26

I feel like it's basically the default reason for delays that the airline doesn't want blamed on them. I was on a flight that landed in BOS back in January. We made a turn into the penalty box, and sat there for 2 1/2 hours. The pilot came on the PA and said that our jetway was frozen to the ground. There were plenty of other US gates open, and plenty of other planes arriving and pulling up to their jetways. We could also see the ground workers trying to get the jetway un-frozen. When I complained to US Airways, they told me that our flight was delayed due to air traffic.

I replied to the email, and explained what the pilot said and what we saw. I received a canned response to the effect, "While we understand that flight delays are frustrating, it is not our intent to inconvenience our passengers. However, safety is our number one concern, and we must comply with all direction from Air Traffic Control. Have a nice day." My day was not nice, but at least I was in F, so I was able to drink during the "ATC delay".