Cargo Carrier Fears Operational Slowdown

FedEx is calling for the FAA to reverse its decision to end a long-standing and questionable landing procedure at its Memphis, TN hub, saying it could lead to serious nationwide delays in package deliveries.

James Parker, FedEx senior vice president for air operations told FAA Administrator Marion Blakey in a letter the change "isn't appropriate" and would lead to "a significant slowdown in operations" according to USA Today.

"The impact of this change to our 'absolutely positively overnight' service cannot be understated," Parker wrote.

As ANN reported, when aircraft land on runway 18L or 18C from the north at MEM, they pass over Runway 27; if an airplane is on 27 or its taxiways, it creates a potential safety hazard. Advocates for a change at MEM also state a go-round could be a tragedy waiting to happen for planes approaching Runway 27, when simultaneous approaches are underway on the perpendicular runways.

FedEx wholeheartedly disagrees, however. A spokesman for the Memphis-based cargo hauler said, "We've followed these arrival procedures for 20 years and know its safe or we wouldn't be flying them."

Safety investigators ruled April 2 the landing arrangement violated FAA rules and that it was "never properly authorized," according to an FAA memo and changed the procedure on April 13.

A situation that's been termed a 'near-miss' between two aircraft thrust the issue in the spotlight. The situation occurred in February when a Northwest Airlines jet flew within several hundred feet of a turboprop commuter plane that had aborted its landing.

According to FedEx spokesman Maury Lane, flight delays of even a few minutes could trigger "delays in our sorting operations, which could have a negative impact on our customer service levels."

"For more than 20 years, we've landed in this configuration, and we know it's safe," Lane said.

Pilot unions and controllers have said the landing procedure in question can be adapted in such a way it cause nothing more than minor delays.

FAA officials met in Memphis Tuesday for a safety review of the landing pattern, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.

Pete Sufka, president of the Memphis chapter of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said a FedEx jet come within several hundred feet of another jet on a similar runway pattern in April 2002.

Lane disagrees saying the incident involved different runways and was not comparable.

FMI: www.fedex.com, www.faa.com