DOT 35-08
Monday, March 10, 2008
Contact: Brian Turmail
Tel.: (202) 366-4570

U.S. Transportation Secretary Peters Announces Agreement
To Limit Flights at Newark, Efforts to Accelerate NextGen

Airlines serving Newark Liberty Airport have agreed to temporarily cap and spread flights for two years at a level that will allow 30 more flights per day than last summer while helping to reduce chronic delays, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters announced today.  The cap, which will apply to both domestic and international flights, will allow an average of 83 flights per hour during peak periods and will go into effect in early May.

“We have an obligation to travelers to do everything in our power to prevent a repeat of the horrors they experienced last summer,” Secretary Peters said. “Delays in New York are a regional problem, not just a single-airport problem.”

Secretary Peters said the U.S. Department of Transportation also would introduce market-based mechanisms at Newark to allow the airport to accommodate growth while helping to reduce congestion and delays. As capacity at Newark grows, the Department will auction slots at the airport, an approach that encourages competition, allows new entrants and responds to customer demand, the Secretary said.

Secretary Peters today also announced that the Department would move key elements of NextGen – the new satellite-based aviation system designed to enhance efficiency and minimize delays across the nation – from design to delivery this year. She said Florida will begin serving as the test-bed for the new system this summer, with the introduction of NextGen at Daytona Beach and the use of a new descent technique in Miami that saves fuel, and reduces noise and emissions. In addition, ADB-S technology will help increase the capacity of airspace along Florida’s Gulf Coast by allowing planes to fly more closely together without compromising safety.

In remarks today at the Federal Aviation Administration Forecast Conference in Washington, Secretary Peters thanked the carriers for their cooperation in reaching the agreement. Airlines can avoid service cuts by shifting flights to times of the day when the airport has unused capacity, she said. This action follows a limitation on hourly flights at New York’s JFK Airport that will go into effect later this month.