The U. S. Department of Transportation`s Federal Aviation Administration (
The U. S. Department of Transportation`s Federal Aviation Administration (
The new comment period closes June 20, 90 days after publication of the notice in today`s Federal Register. The five demand management options include both administrative and market-based approaches to allocate capacity at LaGuardia, which historically is one of the most delayed airports in the U. S.
With the anticipated strong recovery in airline passenger traffic in 2003, we believe it is appropriate to resume the discussion on long-term demand management alternatives at LaGuardia, said FAA Administrator Jane F. Garvey. We are asking for aviation industry comments on ways to increase efficiency at this vital link in our network of airports.
Under rules issued in 1969, the number of hourly flights at LaGuardia is limited. The Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21), enacted in April 2000, eliminates these restrictions or slots in 2007. AIR-21 also immediately exempted flights by new airlines and those serving smaller communities from existing slot restrictions. The pent-up demand for new
service at LaGuardia led to hundreds of exemption requests in the summer of 2000 and resulted in a large increase in delays there.
In December 2000, the FAA capped the number of AIR-21 slot exemptions at 159 per day and reallocated these exemptions to airlines through a lottery. On June 12, 2001, the FAA published a notice in the Federal Register seeking comments on a proposed extension of the slot exemption lottery allocation (Phase I) and several demand management options for LaGuardia (Phase II). The FAA sought comments on the feasibility and effectiveness of five options in Phase II that could be used to replace the current temporary administrative limits on the number of flights at LaGuardia.
Because of the events of September 11, 2001, the FAA suspended last October the closing date for comment period on Phase II. The FAA said then it would later publish a notice setting forth the new closing date and indicate whether the demand management options under consideration had changed.
Use of slots and slot exemptions at LaGuardia are currently below last year`s levels by approximately 14 percent. However, based on projected airline schedules for LaGuardia, it appears flights should return to their pre-September 2001 levels by the end of the summer of 2002.
Comments are also invited on several recent actions that may affect the appropriateness of demand management options described in the notice. These include the attacks of September 11; the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey`s rate increase for LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy International Airport and
Newark International Airport; and the shift in fleet mix resulting in an increased number of regional jet flights at LaGuardia since September 11.
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