WASHINGTON — Fewer flights will be allowed in and out of New York City-area airports at the busiest times as part of a Bush administration plan announced Wednesday to help reduce delays at U.S. airports.
To speed holiday travel, the government plans to open military airspace to commercial traffic on the East and West coasts.
Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced the changes at an air-traffic command center in Virginia after months of closed-door wrangling with the airlines over how to curb air traffic around New York City’s three major airports: John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey.
“I had hoped to be able to avoid caps, but the truth is, for the short term, for the next few years, this is the solution that will provide some relief for travelers,” Peters said.
Officials said they hope to ease the impact of the changes by shifting more flights to off-peak, midday hours, and expected the overall number of daily flights in the area to rise.
Under new rules that take effect in March, JFK will be allowed 82 or 83 flights per hour at peak times, down significantly from the 90 to 100 that had been scheduled this past summer. Similar caps will go into effect at Newark, but the exact number has yet to be determined. LaGuardia already has limits on flights.
The New York airport caps were immediately criticized. Limiting the number of flights at popular travel times may lead to higher ticket prices, or force some people to travel at inconvenient times, Port Authority executive director Anthony Shorris said.
