Two-Year Pact May Be Followed By Slot Auctions

Airlines serving Newark Liberty Airport have agreed to temporarily cap and spread flights for two years at a level that will allow 30 more flights per day than last summer, US Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters announced Monday at the 33rd Annual FAA Forecast Conference.

The cap, which will apply to both domestic and international flights, will allow an average of 83 flights per hour during peak periods and will go into effect in early May, according to DOT. The move follows similar action announced last year for New York's JFK International, where hourly caps not to exceed 83 operations per hour are due to be implemented March 15, 2008.

The agency states both measures will help to reduce chronic delays along the East Coast.

"We have an obligation to travelers to do everything in our power to prevent a repeat of the horrors they experienced last summer," Peters said.  "Delays in New York are a regional problem, not just a single-airport problem." 

Secretary Peters said the US Department of Transportation also plans to auction slots at Newark as capacity grows, an approach DOT says encourages competition, allows new entrants and responds to customer demand.

Peters also announced the Department plans to move a number of elements of the proposed NextGen satellite-based air traffic control system from design to delivery this year. Florida will begin serving as the test-bed for the new system this summer, with the introduction of NextGen at Daytona Beach and the use of a new descent technique in Miami that saves fuel, and reduces noise and emissions.

In addition, Peters asserted ADB-S technology will help increase the capacity of airspace along Florida’s Gulf Coast by allowing planes to fly more closely together without compromising safety.

In something of a "polite suggestion," Peters concluded her remarks by thanking carriers for their cooperation in reaching the agreement at Newark. Airlines can avoid service cuts by shifting flights to times of the day when the airport has unused capacity, she said.

FMI: www.dot.gov, www.faa.gov