IATA: Global Travel Hampered by Slow U.S. Capacity Improvements

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called for the White House and Congressional politicians in the U.S. to take more aggressive short-term action to mitigate air traffic congestion and the lingering security hassles.

Referring to President Bush's recent announcement about making limited airspace changes in an attempt to alleviate congestion during the holidays, Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's director general and CEO, called the action "a political placebo for a serious long-term illness." Mr. Bisignani warned that there would likely be more air delays next summer if the government continues to move too slowly in making capacity and efficiency improvements, and complained that, "Instead of addressing the problem, DOT [the U.S. Department of Transportation] wants to change the way people travel by making it more expensive at peak times."

"There's already a list of at least 75 projects that could begin tomorrow [to improve this situation] and we can't wait any longer," Bisignani said in a speech to the Aero Club of Washington.

Mr. Bisignani urged the DOT to implement IATA's scheduling tool immediately to manage the problem at New York, but noted that operational and infrastructure improvements are the only real solution.  Here are IATA's suggested operational priorities for the New York area:

• Use all four runways with RNP (required navigation performance) technology.

• Move aircraft more efficiently on the ground with better taxiways and modern ground surveillance.

• Increase airspace capacity with next generation ATM (air traffic management).

• Get aircraft out of the congested area without capacity delays with flexible routes over the North Atlantic.

• Consolidate New York and Philadelphia into a single region managed by a direct report to the FAA chief operating officer.

While conceding that many of these are longer-term projects, Mr. Bisignani argued that some, such as RNAV (area navigation) and RNP require little more than training, and can be implemented quickly to achieve significant improvements by next summer.

To be successful, airlines, airports, regulators, pilots, air traffic controllers, need to cooperate, Mr. Bisignani said, and as the main coordinator, the FAA must be aggressive and deliver real results fast.

Click this link for a full text of Mr. Bisignani's speech.  12-03-2007.

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