Posted by findingDulcinea staff
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced that area airports will not accept flights from airlines that purchased landing slots in a government auction.
In an effort to block the Bush administration’s proposal to auction flight landing slots, the Port Authority’s major airports—John F. Kennedy, Newark Liberty, and LaGuardia—will ban any airliner landing in an auctioned spot from using gates or ground facilities.
The decision to auction slots came after one of the worst years in history for flight delays. From January to April of 2007, only 72 percent of U.S. domestic flights arrived on time, with passengers often stranded for hours in overcrowded airports. New York City’s three major airports were the top offenders.
To remedy the situation, the FAA proposed a plan requiring carriers at those airports to auction off some of their slots over the next five years, as well as limit the number of flights at peak hours. The goal of the plan is to reduce congestion and cut down on delays while distributing landing spaces that open up from flight caps fairly.
The Port Authority fervently opposes auctioning slots, believing it will reduce service to small and medium-sized airports and ultimately hurt consumers by raising ticket prices. William DeCota, the Port Authority’s aviation director, calls the proposal “not only illegal but also disastrous.”
D.J. Gribbin, the Transportation Department’s top lawyer, maintains that the law is on the government’s side. “We clearly have the authority, as we’ve done with orders that currently exist, to determine which carriers can access the airports at what times,” he said
Indeed, 15 years ago the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in City of Burbank v. Lockheed Air Terminal that the federal government held full control of airspace management.
Find out more at findingDulcinea.com