Auctioning New York airport slots creates controversy

Airline passengers traveling in and out of the greater New York City area have learned that flight delays are a fact of life. Last year, near-record delays plagued the three major airports in the region, and officials are saying that a domino effect caused by New York-area backups has been responsible for delays nation-wide.

In a plan to decrease the delays experienced at JFK and Newark Liberty airports, U.S. transportation officials capped the number of landing and take-off at these two major airports. LaGuardia’s slots have been capped for many years.

Officials at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the operator of the airports, report that they have not seen any real improvement. Possibly, it’s too soon to tell, but the U.S. Department of Transportation wants to try a new fix. They are planning on requiring airlines operating at the three New York-area airports to sell off 10 to 20 percent of their landing and take-off slots, by auction, over the next five years.

Port Authority officials are suggesting that the DOT officials should take it more slowly.

The planned auctions has generated heated opposition from the Port Authority, which insists that it will not accept flights using slots bought at auction. The nation’s airlines have sued the government, through their representative Air Transport Association, in order to block the planned auctions, which they maintain are illegal.

www.panynj.gov