U.S. DOT Proposes New Policy To Ease Airport Congestion

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters announced a new policy meant to encourage airlines to spread their flights more evenly throughout the day at some of America's busiest airports, by changing the formula for setting landing fees.

The policy, once finalized, would give congested airports in New York, and others across the country, the flexibility to set landing fees relative to the time of day and the volume of traffic, rather than the current practice of basing charges only on aircraft weight.

The proposed changes to the FAA's Policy on Airport Rates and Charges will be open to public comment for 45 days before it is finalized, Secretary Peters said.

The intended result would be to spread traffic more evenly throughout the day, thereby reducing congestion delays while serving more passengers, and avoiding the need for other types of sustained federal government intervention, such as rationing.

The proposed changes would also allow airport operators to include the cost of projects designed to expand capacity in the new landing fees. Currently, airports can only include those costs after the projects have been completed.  Secretary Peters said the change would lower the cost of construction projects by avoid some of their finance fees.

In addition, the new policy would allow airport operators that operate multiple airfields, like the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, to distribute landing fee revenue among their facilities.  For example, landing fees collected at LaGuardia, Newark or JFK could be used to make improvements at Stewart.  As a result, smaller, less utilized airports could become more attractive to travelers, giving them more options, and relieving pressure on the current busier ones.

"All told, these new market-based measures will help reduce congestion and increase airport investments," Secretary Peters said. "Airports will now be able to more efficiently and effectively finance the kind of projects that will give travelers more options, airlines more opportunities, and cities like New York more visitors."  01-15-2008.

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