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New FAA Program Saves An Est $900 Million Over Ten Years
WASHINGTON,
DC – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it
is phasing in a new program designed to greatly reduce the number of
flight delays and bring an estimated $900 million in cost savings to
the airlines and the flying public. The agency noted that it is
launching the program now to address flight delays caused by summer
weather and travel patterns. The Airspace Flow Program will allow
air traffic controllers to delay only those flights that are expected
to encounter extremely bad weather. As a result, the new program is
expected to minimize the crippling effects of the sudden thunderstorms
that frequently affect the nation’s airspace system during the summer
when travel is at its highest. On a single severe weather day,
thousands of flights can be delayed, diverted or canceled, affecting
hundreds of thousands of passengers and resulting in millions of
dollars in operating losses for carriers. There are as many as 40
severe weather days each year. “This program allows us to work
around severe weather in highly congested airspace with greater
precision and efficiency than in the past,” said Administrator Marion
C. Blakey. “As a result, we will cut delays, keep passengers safe and
make summer travel easier.” Under the Airspace Flow Program,
controllers will issue expected departure times to aircraft that are
expected to pass through airspace affected by bad weather, and safely
meter them through the constrained area. This improves the FAA’s
ability to respond to severe weather and reduces the amount of
unnecessary delays and disruptions. The new program integrates
existing technologies put in place by the FAA over the past few years
and was developed by a select team of officials from the agency, the
airlines and the general aviation community. The team also established
the protocols for deciding on the best time and methods for using the
program. During the first year, the program may be used at six
locations marked by boundary lines for high altitude en route centers
in the East, Southeast and Midwest. Blakey said that using the
Airspace Flow Program just 10 times in 2006 will result in cost
benefits to the airlines and the flying public of approximately $20
million. She added that over 10 years, the program is expected to save
airlines and travelers a combined total of over $900 million.
Contact an Aviation Attorney near you to find out more about your legal rights.
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