LaGuardia Airport ordered to reduce flight traffic

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is requiring New York’s LaGuardia Airport to cut four flights each hour in order to help reduce delays that plague the New York area and have worsened in the past two years, according to the Department of Transportation.

Airlines will be required to indicate which flights they will voluntarily cut by February 2, the Department stated on Thursday. Changes will take effect no later than May 31 and remain in effect through October 24. Last month, the agency revealed its plan to reduce the number of flights at the busy airport from 75 to 71 per hour.

The current hourly traffic numbers have been in place since 2001, and are now being reduced because the amount of traffic is exceeding the airport’s capacity to keep traffic moving on time – particularly during bad weather – and backups then impact traffic throughout the day.

In terms of on-time arrivals, LaGuardia ranked in last place of the 32 major airports in the U.S. airports for 2007, and also for the first 11 months of 2008, according to the department.

Being the New York City-area airport located closest to Manhattan, LaGuardia appeals to business travelers that are willing to pay top dollar for the flexibility of flying at short notice. Expansion at the airport is limited due to its position between Bowering and Flushing bays.

Carriers with the largest numbers of passengers at LaGuardia include American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and US Airways, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the airport’s operator.

www.panynj.gov