An appeals court in Washington, D.C., yesterday ordered the U.S. Department of Transportation to halt its proposed slot auctions at the three major New York City-area airports, which were set to begin next month, as it further reviews the legality of the proceedings.
The Air Transport Association and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports, promptly cheered the delay in the auctions, which sparked a lawsuit and public denunciations.
In court documents filed late last month, ATA said neither the Federal Aviation Administration nor the public would gain benefits from the auctions, while airlines "will suffer irreparable harm if the Federal Aviation Administration is permitted to auction slots
(BTNonline, Dec. 8)."
DOT has planned to gradually auction "up to 10 percent of the landing and takeoff slots these airlines currently operate free of charge today" at the three airports to promote competition and curb delays. The auctions were slated to continue through 2014
(BTNonline, Oct. 6).
ATA president and CEO James May in a statement released yesterday said the court-ordered stay is "a clear win for passengers, as the Department was stopped from proceeding with an ideological experiment that would have resulted in higher fares, less service and a confiscation of airline property."