Two weeks after an appeals court delayed its plan to auction slots at the three major New York-area airports, the U.S. Department of Transportation today called on carriers to voluntarily reduce scheduled operations at La Guardia Airport from 75 departures and arrivals per hour to an average of 71.
"Too many flyers know that LaGuardia's delays are the worst of the worst, and we want to use every tool at our disposal to help passengers stuck with this grueling congestion," said Transportation Secretary Mary Peters in a statement.
However, Peters added that, despite the appeals court's delay of any auction plan
(BTNonline, Dec. 9), "any plan to promote airline competition and help keep airfares low for consumers over the long haul must include market-based solutions. Caps alone are not the long-term solution."
DOT had 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.