The FAA and DOT are making proposals that will add market based auction and pricing solutions to the New York airspace crowding problems linked with capacity controls. The airlines continue to squeal but offer no new suggestions for immediate relief.
According to Government Executive the three airports in the New York metropolitan area account for 45 percent of flight delays system-wide, according to the ATA, and Meenan was critical of FAA and Transportation’s plans to auction airlines’ flight slots and encouraged airports to implement congestion pricing against airlines.
FAA Air Traffic Organization COO Hank Krakowski pointed to other congestion reduction initiatives, such as increased routes over the Atlantic Ocean and new “playbook” routes for avoiding inclement weather, including the use of military airspace. He added that new and extended runways and airfield configurations will help expand flight capacity. All agreed that implementing the digital NextGen air traffic control system and implementing new satellite technology nationwide by 2013 is an important goal.
Though everyone agrees with the ATA that long range air traffic solutions and satellite technology are most important for future air traffic growth, something has to be done now. The DOT and FAA proposals, though unproven and unpopular with airlines, offer the best route to immediate reductions of delays.
With Congress sitting on the sidelines, still diddling over DOT and FAA funding, the DOT and FAA must do everything under their control to mitigate the NY regional delay problems that are plaguing the entire country.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
