New York Airports May Get Auctions to Cut Delays
Published December 5th, 2007
U.S. regulators may use an auction system to curb delays at New York City’s airports by giving airlines financial incentives to use fewer planes or shift flights to off-peak hours. Bidding for takeoff and landing slots is one of the options being considered at John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport in New York, and Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, said D.J. Gribbin, the U.S. Transportation Department’s general counsel. The three airports are the most congested in the U.S., with fewer than 62 percent of flights arriving on time this year. Auctions involve putting some departure and arrival times up for bid, prompting carriers to save money and reduce congestion by combining flights or shifting trips to less costly hours. Auctions are “definitely one of the options we’re considering,” Gribbin said in an interview yesterday. “We’re considering pretty much everything at this stage.”
