NJ Senators Call for Plan to Limit Delays, Congestion at Newark Airport

Press Release

Following news reports this week that the Department of Transportation plans to implement flight schedule restrictions for New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, New Jersey's U.S. Senators, Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ), are pressing the Department to take a more regional approach to reducing flight delays - an approach that includes action to reduce delays at Newark Liberty International Airport (http://menendez.senate.gov/pdf/121207lettertoFAAondelays.pdf).

In their letter to Transportation Secretary Mary Peters and Federal Aviation Administration Acting Administrator Robert Sturgell, the senators cite the lack of attention paid to Newark, the nation's most delayed airport, during the FAA's delay reduction process. They argue that a cap for JFK, in combination with an existing cap at LaGuardia Airport, will force all new entrants into the regional market to use Newark.

"Travelers are tired of flights that are delayed or flat-out cancelled. The Bush Administration's proposal will make the situation worse at Newark Airport, cramming too many flights into too few slots," Senator Frank R. Lautenberg said. "We cannot let the Bush Administration dump these excess flights -- and the problems they create -- onto New Jersey."

"I am certainly hoping that this is a two-step process and that the FAA is preparing to announce action at Newark, but to this point they have taken a narrow approach to this regional problem," said Senator Bob Menendez. "Travelers who use Newark are already at their wit's end with all the delays and growing safety issues. Jamming more flights into an airport already filled to the brim could make the pot boil over."

Senator Lautenberg included $2.5 million in new funding for passenger rights enforcement in the 2008 Department of Transportation funding bill. The money will help improve customer service for all airline passers, including those who are stranded due to flight delays, missed connections and cancellations.

In August, Senator Menendez first urged the DOT and FAA to consider innovative ideas to reduce flight delays, including flight caps (http://menendez.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=281124), and he has consistently pressed the FAA to take a regional approach to this issue (http://menendez.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=286171).

In November, a House-Senate Conference Committee approved two measures sponsored by both New Jersey Senators to reduce delays and congestion in our region. One measure requires the federal government to send Congress a plan to reduce flight delays; the other requires the GAO investigate the Administration's proposed Airspace Redesign Plan.

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