Statement Of Senator Clinton Regarding FAA's Plans To Implement Auctions At New York Area Airports

Statement

Statement Of Senator Clinton Regarding FAA's Plans To Implement Auctions At New York Area Airports

"Today's announcement by Secretary Peters once again ignores the real problems causing congestion in our nation's airways and airports. Last November I secured legislation requiring the Secretary of Transportation to submit to Congress a report detailing how the Federal Aviation Administration plans to alleviate air congestion and flight delays in the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia airspace by August 31, 2008. However, it appears instead that the FAA plans to press forward with a myopic plan that provides no clear solution to the problem of congestion, but may in fact drive up ticket prices for passengers at our airports.

The massive delays, groundings, and cancellations we have seen over the past year have been a product of an air traffic control system that is in need of modernization, and a constant decline in the number of technicians and controllers who keep it staffed and operational. When we should be taking immediate steps to adequately staff our control towers and expedite new technology to expand capacity at our airports, the FAA has instead chosen to move ahead with an untested plan that ignores the real problems and may also increase costs. I will continue to work to help ensure that we are moving toward real long-term solutions to improve safety and reduce delays for our flying public."

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