FAA Says 43 Airports Need To Be Expanded

If 43 US airports aren't upgraded and expanded by 2020, the FAA says they won't be able to deal with the expected increase in air traffic.

"If you think we have problems with delay today, wait till you get to 2013," said Catherine Lang, FAA deputy associate administrator for airports. "Wait till 2020 and you've got 42 choices for headaches."

In a study of 300 airports nationwide, the FAA found five were already operating over capacity: Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Newark Liberty International, O'Hare (below, right), Philadelphia International Airport and New York's La Guardia.

Topping the list of obvious problems preventing airport expansion -- space and opposition from neighbors. The report mentioned Logan International in particular when citing local opposition to expansion. Officials noted that Logan's spent the better part of three decades trying to build a consensus for a new runway. While a lot of those hurdles have been overcome, you'll note the conspicuous absence of any runway construction at Logan.

SeaTac officials proposed a new runway back in 1987. The project has been repeatedly delayed by opposition from neighbors. Construction there isn't slated to begin until 2008 at the earliest.

In Chicago, the ongoing effort to expand O'Hare has been bogged down in budget and environmental battles.

The litany goes on. In the meantime, the FAA says the problems associated with airport overcrowding are likely to continue and even grow worse, given the growth of metropolitan airports served by commercial airports and the burgeoning low-fare airline industry.

FMI: www.faa.gov