The decision by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to institute a temporary ban on increasing the number of flights at New York La Guardia is the latest example of how local airport officials are attempting to alleviate runway gridlock during peak hours. The move, similar to last summer's scheme to cut congestion at San Francisco International (SFO), has drawn fire from US airline and federal aviation officials and, unless a compromise is found, the matter could end up in a federal court.
SFO's airport commission has temporarily stepped back from its proposal to cut flights by 30-seat regional aircraft and reduce the overall frequency of flights into the airport. It has suspended the plan pending fulfillment of a promise from United Airlines to cut delays by 30% before the end of the year, through flight schedule refinements.
The 1 October moratorium at La Guardia initially affected few new routes, but could lead to litigation in November when 35 new flights approved by the US Department of Transportation (DoT) are set to start.
Deborah McElroy, president of the Regional Airline Association (RAA), hopes for a compromise in New York. "Our carriers are trying to solve this issue through consultation rather than confrontation and litigation. We're working with La Guardia because we recognise that what happens there could set a precedent - not only at La Guardia but at other US airports - when flight restrictions are lifted or where airports, officials just believe that they are saturated," she says.
Responding to delaysThe controversy boiled over this year because of staggering flight delays, nationwide. Frederick Smith, chairman and chief executive of Federal Express, recently advocated reinstatement of slot controls at major US airports as a drastic means of reducing delays. "We are simply at capacity at peak hours at hub airports. We are seeing air traffic delays at all hours of the day and night, and these delays are growing at an alarming rate. You think this summer was bad? Next summer will make this one look like a picnic," the airline chief told a Congressional panel.
The lack of progress in fixing the US air traffic control system prompted La Guardia and SFO officials to address matters themselves.
Reducing frequenciesSFO's tack is to force air carriers, primarily United Airlines and Skywest Airlines, a United Express carrier, to fly larger aircraft and operate fewer frequencies. Officials point out that of 1,260 daily flights, 18% consist of aircraft with 30 seats or fewer, carrying only 3% of the passengers. The delay-plagued airport is often blanketed in fog, and the use of larger aircraft is seen as one solution to capacity problems, but the airport's effort to mandate aircraft types appears to be unprecedented. The airport also proposes to extend the turnaround time for United Shuttle operations to build in a cushion.
SFO officials say the air carriers ignored past requests to substitute larger aircraft on fewer flights. The airport then threatened to ask the US Federal Aviation Administration for the right to order the airlines to do so under Part 161 rulemaking, as they lacked the legal authority to ban flights outright. But the airport backed off from its proposal and is awaiting promised results.
"We continue to monitor United's activity to see if, in fact, those promised reductions are taking place. We'll know by the end of the year if the issue has been resolved," says SFO spokesman Ron Wilson. "We don't want to run an airline's business, but we did not feel we had an alternative. We needed some concessions. We will wait and see, but we are cautiously optimistic," he adds.
Meanwhile, New York and New Jersey Port Authority officials are taking a stand against a federal law passed in April that opens access at La Guardia to regional jets and initial service by new long-haul airline entrants. "Requests to the airlines from the port authority that flights be rescheduled to other times of the day when there may be some additional capacity have been disregarded," officials told affected air carriers. They say delays at the airport have grown to an "unacceptable level" and they hope the ban on additional flights at peak hours will prompt the airlines to spread out flights.
Federal officials are quietly addressing the move. It is unclear whether the port authority has the legal right to limit flights. US transportation secretary Rodney Slater says he has the authority to impose a solution, but prefers a settlement through "cordial" negotiations.
US legislators have weighed in, with Senator John McCain, the powerful chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, calling the temporary moratorium "a blatant attempt to respond to local politics and circumvent federal law". He adds that "airport capacity should not be restricted piecemeal by a local authority seeking to address community concerns about noise and traffic. While delays attributable to airport capacity are reaching critical levels, any action taken to address this issue should be done with the full participation of affected parties: the airlines, the airport, FAA and DoT."
Local support
Local lawmakers support the port authority's action, calling the moratorium "an important and unprecedented step to ease the problem of overcrowding on LaGuardia's runways".
The airlines claim that the Airline Deregulation Act of 1976 allows air carriers to determine "where there will be service and with what aircraft". According to McElroy: "It is the airline's decision where and how to operate. The law makes that perfectly clear. We do not believe the port authority has the legal authority to impose such a moratorium." McElroy says the port authority is claiming legal authority through a little known provision of the deregulation law that gives local airports authority to impose aircraft noise regulations.
The Air Transport Association (ATA) says: "It is a very bad idea for any type of airport authority to get involved in the free market, and that's exactly what is happening here."
Other airport executives say New York officials have overstepped their authority. One FAA official says: "The port authority will be challenged in federal court if it tries to enforce the moratorium, and the port authority will lose."
Schedule changesDelta Connection carrier Atlantic Coast Jet launched a peak hour La Guardia-Burlington, Vermont service as scheduled on 1 October, but only on an interim basis. AC Jet will change the schedule for the flight, starting 1 November. Delta, DoT and port authority officials are attempting to determine the future of other Delta flights at the airport.
Kansas City-based Vanguard Airlines was given permission to initiate its one peak hour flight on an interim basis pending completion of negotiations on a permanent solution. Vanguard says it is willing to shift its schedule to accommodate the moratorium.
US Airways Express says a new route from Virginia to La Guardia "has been put on hold" pending resolution of the controversy. Spirit Airlines, which began offering flights to Florida cities from La Guardia in September, is working with the other parties to negotiate additional services from the airport. "We feel there is some merit to the port authority's position. We are sympathetic, but we have a business to run. We are working towards a compromise, and we don't want the issue to go to court," says an airline spokesman.
An airport official close to the situation says the moratorium has begun to produce the desired results. "It was designed to get the airlines to co-operate, to get some flights out of the two peak periods. But if the air carriers don't co-operate in the future, and the problems persist, conceivably the matter will end up in court," he says.
McElroy recognises that this is an issue that needs to be settled, but she believes a court challenge may be inevitable. "Eventually, unfortunately, the matter could end up in litigation," she believes.
Source: Flight International
