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Department of Transportation Announces New Steps to Tackle Aviation Congestion and Delays
U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters today announced that she has charged a group of airline, airport and travel officials with developing a series of measures to reduce congestion at New York’s three major airports by the end of the year. She also announced that the Department will develop options for reducing flight schedules at JFK. The announcements followed an Oval Office meeting with the President on the issue today.
Secretary Peters said the new group, known as the Aviation Rulemaking Committee – or ARC, was necessary because one-third of the nation’s air traffic goes in, out, or over New York airspace every day, accounting for three-quarters of all chronic airline delays. The panel, which held its first meeting today, will report by December a proposal to help reduce congestion by the 2008 summer travel season.
“If we can fix delays in New York, we will improve flying for a significant number of travelers across the country,” Secretary Peters said.
Secretary Peters also announced formation of a scheduling committee consisting of airlines operating at JFK, to develop recommendations for reducing the number of flights into and out of the overcrowded airport. But, she said, the preference is to find a way to “let market incentives do the job, and not to return to the days of government regulated flights and limited competition.”
The Secretary also said the Department is working to ensure better consumer protection. Those plans include immediate measures to provide travelers with better information on delays, update consumer complaint systems and increase oversight of chronically delayed flights. The Secretary also called on Congress to act on an Administration proposal to invest in a new satellite-based air traffic control system that will dramatically expand airspace capacity over the next 20 years.
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