Airline tarmac delays were down dramatically year-over-year according to a report published Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Transportation. 

For the month of June, only three flights were delayed on the tarmac for more than three hours. That is down from the 268 flights stranded in June 2009. 

The 18 airlines that filed on-time performance data nixed 1.5 percent of their scheduled flights in June, which matches how they performed a year prior. 

The three delayed planes in June were all United Airlines flights departing from Chicago's O'Hare airport on June 18.

On that day the Windy City suffered a severe thunderstorm. None of the three planes were delayed longer than five minutes past the three-hour limit. 

Effective April 29, all airlines operating domestic flights must not leave passengers stranded on the runway for more than three hours without deplaning.

The DOT has said they will impose fines up to $27,500 per passenger if an airline breaks this rule.