With the recent announcement by the United States Department of Transportation plans to auction off slots for aircraft to land at New York’s LaGuardia International Airport, the old issue of how to ease congestion at the airport is back on the table. The idea of auctioning off slots at LaGuardia as a bid to reduce congestion has not been met favourably by The Air Transport Association of America however, and a statement by the organization holds nothing back as to the ATA’s view of the situation.

ATA president and CEO James C. May says, “It is truly mystifying, with the airline industry in a financial meltdown due to overwhelming fuel prices, that DOT decides now is the time for a costly economics experiment at LaGuardia. It is even more ridiculous considering the DOT’s highly suspect claim of legal authority it has just ‘discovered’ after decades of concluding the opposite.”

He continued by saying, “The airlines and the Port Authority have worked in close cooperation with DOT in recommending concrete steps to add capacity and better manage schedule demands. While DOT is moving on 17 of those recommendations, which we appreciate, they are ignoring 60 others while wasting time and precious financial resources in ‘experimenting’ with increased costs to drive down demand. This proposal means fewer choices, higher costs and a reduction in service to smaller communities. The public does not want that, the Port Authority does not want that, and the airlines do not want that.”