US limits flights to and from New York City

The United States government is preparing to limit the number of flights that may land at airports around

New York City, in an effort to cut back on increasing congestion and ever longer delays at these busy hubs. The new regulation, soon to come into effect, will essentially cap the number of flights that may land or take off from LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy and Newark-Liberty airports. Government, aviation and airline officials have spent the past several months working behind the scenes on a way to solve chronic delays around NYC, while at the same time ensuring that carriers serving this area are not penalized. Yet solving chronic and lengthy delays in New York can have a positive impact on the rest of the

US as well, as congestion and an unmanageable number of flights at these three NYC area airports tend to cause waves through the entire commercial aviation network, resulting in delays elsewhere.

Mary Peters, the

US transportation secretary, conceded that capping flights at NYC airports was really a last resort and not the ideal solution. Yet Peters also noted that airline will have to get used to the new reality, as these caps are likely to stay in place for at least the next few years. Passengers, however, will probably benefit from the new rules, as a greater proportion of flights will leave and arrive on schedule.

The maximum number of flights that may use

JFK Airport during any given hour will be 83, which means that between seven and seventeen fewer planes will be landing and taking-off each hour than was customary this past summer. Airlines will now be required to schedule fewer flights during the busiest hours of the day at all three airports.