The U.S. government is going forward with a plan to auction off some takeoff and landing slots at JFK, La Guardia, and Newark airports, claiming that market forces will help streamline air traffic and reduce delays. The Port Authority, which runs the airports, and several New York politicians oppose the plan, which they say is a poorly thought out experiment the administration is trying to get through before leaving office without weighing the full impact on companies and consumers. But why would the Feds want to tinker with New York area airports anyway? Because, as the AP points out, "roughly two-thirds of flight delays around the country are caused by backups at those airports." Um, sorry about that. But who's the real enemy here? Apparently, it's small planes.
Federal transportation officials say much of the reason for nationwide flight delays is that airlines have crammed too many planes -- and small planes -- onto New York runways.
Well, at least we have a scapegoat. Under an auction system, it seems like the bigger players would have a better shot at the primo slots, but nobody yet knows how this will all play out since it's never been done before. We'll keep an eye on the on-time rates after January 12, when the auction winners are announced.
[Photo: World Airport Codes]
Related Stories:
· Feds Go Forward With NYC Airport Experiment [AP via Yahoo! News]
· Airport Congestion Coverage [Jaunted]]]>
