DOT to introduce flight caps at JFK starting in March
Megan Kuhn, Washington DC (19Dec07, 19:14 GMT, 283 words)
Flight caps will be introduced at New York John F. Kennedy on 15 March for 2008 and 2009.

The caps will be set at 82 or 83 per hour at JFK, depending on time of day, plus four unscheduled slots, US Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said during a press conference today.

Carriers with the greatest percentage of flights at JFK--JetBlue Airways and Delta Air Lines at 30% and American Airlines at 15%--will mostly likely have to shift the largest number of flights from peak hours, FAA assistant administrative director for policy Nancy LoBue says.

The government also plans to create hourly caps at Newark International Airport, a major hub for Continental Airlines. The FAA is still determining those levels for Newark, Peters explains. In a statement DOT says Peters is directing FAA to start negotiations to set hourly caps at the airport, “so that flights aren’t simply shifted there, erasing gains made at JFK.”

The federal government will also hire a New York airport czar to coordinate the implementation of new procedures.

DOT says, “As operational improvements increase capacity at area airports, new slots will be leased to airlines with the revenue being used for airspace and airport improvements in the region.”

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) condemned plans to lease or auction off take-off and landing slots at New York City’s airports “as an ineffective way to alleviate unacceptable congestion in the region.”

Peters also says she’s authorizing the FAA to “exercise liberal use of overtime to make sure facilities are staffed to handle the surge in traffic.” There is also a moratorium being placed on non-essential maintenance through the holidays so air traffic controllers can focus on traffic.

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news