PTE Reading

Multiple Choice, Single Answer

1 questions. Answer them all, then submit once for your section score.

Pearson Test of English — TestDayTwin Practice
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1.
Multiple Choice, Single Answer

Read the passage and answer the question.

Modern airports function as tightly choreographed logistics operations, where a delay in one process can cascade quickly through the entire schedule. Baggage handling systems, for instance, must route thousands of items to correct flights within narrow time windows, often relying on automated sorting to keep pace with passenger volume that manual handling could not sustain. Ground crews coordinating refuelling, catering, and cleaning work simultaneously during the limited turnaround window a parked aircraft has before its next scheduled departure, meaning any single delayed task can push back an entire flight. Air traffic control further complicates this coordination by managing runway sequencing across many aircraft competing for the same limited takeoff and landing slots. Airports handling international connections face additional pressure, since passengers transferring between flights often have tight connection windows that leave little room for absorbing delays elsewhere in the system.

According to the passage, why can a single delayed task during aircraft turnaround affect an entire flight?