Airport Fees Change Meant to Cut Travel Delays

NEW YORK — Aiming to ease worsening air travel delays, the government on Monday began allowing airports to charge airlines landing fees based on traffic volume and the time flights land.

But the airline industry and some analysts said the new policy would do little except raise passenger ticket prices.

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said at a Manhattan news conference that the new policy would encourage airlines to spread out their flight schedules more evenly throughout the day.

Previously, airports charged landing fees based only on a plane's weight.

"This change would allow airports to handle flights more efficiently, give passengers fewer delays and help all of us avoid the need for government intervention," Peters said.

But Michael Boyd, president of the Boyd Group aviation consulting firm, called the government's move "really bad public policy."

"Comparing it to aviation reality, it's just short of crackpot. Airlines schedule airplanes when people need to get from A to B," he said. "It will simply raise costs for customers who simply want to fly at the times they want to fly."

Chris Kelly, spokeswoman for Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, called the policy "congestion pricing in sheep's clothing."

"The Transportation Department is still suggesting a tax which would result in increased ticket prices," she said.

The Air Transport Association, an industry group for the largest airlines, added to that chorus, saying the government should look beyond landing fees.

The policy "does nothing to fix the primary cause of delays — our nation's increasingly antiquated air traffic control system," said ATA president Jim May.

Peters said the change also would allow airports to use the fees to help finance expansion projects, leading to more facilities to handle air traffic.

The policy drew praise from the Airports Council International-North America, which represents airport owners.

"Airport proprietors are in the best position to manage the use of the facilities they planned, financed, built and currently operate," said Greg Principato, the group's president.

He said airports can work with airlines and communities "to develop rates and charges that address congestion and passenger inconvenience."

The new policy, which still requires a 45-day public comment period, is the latest Bush administration move seeking to unsnarl the nation's crowded skies.

Last month, airlines and the government agreed to cut the number of flights in and out of New York-area airports during the busiest hours. Much of the nation's congested air traffic can be traced back to the region's three airports, which have the worst on-time records.

The new policy will also allow airport operators that run multiple locations to distribute the landing fees among their various facilities, Peters said.

As an example, she mentioned the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey.

She said fees from those airports could be used to improve the lightly used Stewart Airport 60 miles north of New York City.

The Port Authority said in a statement that addressing delays is good, but the "right solution is expanding capacity through 21st century technologies, working with the airlines on more rational schedules and better customer service."