Says DOT Decision Amounts To 'Congestion Pricing'
When it comes to the
controversial topic of so-called "congestion pricing," general
aviation pilots and commercial airlines stand on common ground. As
carriers fight a recent Department of Transportation decision to
allow new airport landing fees, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots
Association has vowed to combat any attempt to discriminate
against general aviation at the nation's airports.
As ANN reported last
week, Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters
announced airports could increase landing charges on commercial
airliners during the busiest periods, to encourage carriers to more
evenly distribute flights throughout the day.
Several analysts applauded the move, as a needed step to combat
increasing airline delays during peak times... but, AOPA notes, the
aviation community has almost universally rejected so-called
"peak-hour pricing" or "congestion pricing."
"All federally funded airports, by law, must be open to all
classes of users without unjust discrimination," said AOPA
President Phil Boyer. "Whether through fees or slot restrictions,
airlines and general aviation must be treated reasonably and
fairly. And AOPA will do whatever it takes to ensure that principle
of law is upheld."
Acknowledging current FAA airport rates and charges guidelines
allow airports to establish different landing fees during various
times of the day, AOPA states general aviation, the airlines, and
even airports have opposed congestion pricing as an ineffective,
and ultimately unfair, way to ration airport capacity.
In December, the New
York Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) -- established to make
recommendations to the Department of Transportation on ways to
reduce congestion at the three major airports in the New York area
-- did not endorse congestion pricing, recommending the creation of new air
routes instead. AOPA was a member of that
committee.
"Many members of the working group expressed strong concerns
about the application of congestion pricing or auctions as a
primary method to allocate airport capacity at New York airports,"
said ARC leaders in a December 13 letter to Peters (shown below),
reports AOPA. "There was concern that a congestion pricing or
auction system would cause disruption to the market and may not be
effective in moving flights out of peak times."
Despite those recommendations, however -- and bucking earlier
reports DOT had heeded airline opposition to such a
plan -- the agency announced congestion pricing as its
solution to the problem.
"Why did they waste taxpayer money chartering an advisory
committee if they weren’t going to listen to the
recommendations?" Boyer asked rhetorically. "They want to impose
'market based' controls whether or not the industry thinks
congestion pricing would be an appropriate way to reduce
delays."
Boyer stressed general aviation traffic is NOT what causes
airline delays at the nation's busiest airports -- AOPA figures
show GA accounts for less than two percent of total operations at
JFK International, for example -- so GA should not be forced to pay
a penalty.
"To solve the airline delay problems and create an aviation
system that serves the needs of all users, we need to add runway
capacity and modernize the air traffic control system. And the
first step toward that would be passing an FAA funding bill without
user fees," he added.