FAA Limits Numbers Of GA Arrivals At PBIA

Snowbirds anxious to avoid the cold, rain and snow of more northerly latitudes have been causing big-time headaches for commercial air travelers at Florida's Palm Beach International Airport.

Now, the FAA has come up with a solution to the problem of clogged runways -- especially on Sunday afternoons. The idea: limit the number of arrivals so more aircraft can depart.

"All these planes are flying into Palm Beach International late in the week, then they all leave on Sunday afternoon," FAA spokesman Christopher White said from his office in Atlanta. He spoke in an interview with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "By allowing less arrivals, we allow more departures."

The FAA plan reduces the number of arrivals at PBIA from 36 to 24 an hour. Hours-long delays would be reduced to just 30-minutes at peak travel times.

"We are not gridlocked and we have efforts in place to make sure we don't get to that point," said Joe Robert, air-traffic control manager at PBIA.

But the true test of the FAA plan comes next month. That's when bizjet traffic at PBIA is expected to peak. Anthony Askew, the NATCA rep at PBIA, told the Sun-Sentinel, "We're still going to have delays, but it's a helpful tool in getting the departures out of the airport."

The problem was exacerbated last December when the airport's radar system started acting up. That problem has been fixed, according to airport officials, but the weekend traffic jams haven't gone away. As many as 400 bizjets pour into PBIA during the week. NATCA says they all want to leave Sunday afternoon. This year alone, bizjet traffic at PBIA is up about 25-percent.

Askew said it's time Washington took notice of the ATC problems in Palm Beach. "Right now there's a reckless fiscal agenda to cut back spending for air-traffic control," Askew said. "The leadership in Congress is going in the wrong direction."

FMI: www.pbia.org