FAA urges airlines to trim flights voluntary at New York’s LaGuardia Airport to ease congestion

The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the nation’s aviation regulator, has urged airlines to reduce voluntarily operations at the congested LaGuardia Airport in New York after a plan to auction takeoff and landing rights at three airports in the New York area was stayed by a court.

The Federal Aviation Administration, an agency of the United States Department of Transportation with authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation within the country, is attempting to reduce the worst delays at airports across the United States.

According to Mary Peters, US Transportation Secretary, the Federal Aviation Administration is working with carriers to cut scheduled operations at LaGuardia Airport – the most delay-prone airport in the United States – to 71 operations per hour from 75.

LaGuardia Airport ranked last among the 32 major airports in the United States in arrival performance in 2007 and so far in 2008 – with an on-time arrival rate of just over 60%, Mary Peters said in a statement. The airport ranked 28th for on-time departure performance over the first 10 months of 2008.

The United States government says that lowering the hourly cap on operations to 71 from 75 from April to October could reduce delays LaGuardia Airport by as much as 41%.

The plan to auction slots at LaGuardia Airport was stayed by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia earlier in December 2008, pending further court review.

Top airline-industry groups, some lawmakers and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey had opposed the plan to auction slots, arguing that the FAA lacked the legal authority to auction the slots.

Mary Peters said in the statement: “Too many flyers know that LaGuardia’s delays are the worst of the worst, and we want to use every tool at our disposal to help passengers stuck with this grueling congestion.”

LaGuardia Airport, located in Queens County on Long Island in the the City of New York, was originally named Glenn H Curtiss Airport after aviation pioneer Glenn Hammond Curtiss and was later renamed North Beach Airport. Its name was again changed – this time after Fiorello H La Guardia, a former Mayor of New York who built the airport.

LaGuardia Airport is the smallest of the three primary commercial airports of the New York metropolitan area – the other two being John F Kennedy International Airport in southern Queens and Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey. However, LaGuardia is larger than nearby alternative airports Long Island MacArthur Airport in Suffolk County, Westchester County Airport in Westchester County Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, New York.

Thanks to its central location and proximity to Manhattan, LaGuardia Airport is popular despite its comparatively small size. Wide-bodied aircraft once visited LaGuardia regularly – the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 planes and Lockheed L-1011 planes were even specifically designed for use at LaGuardia Airport.

At present, most flights from LaGuardia Airport go to destinations within the United States and Canada as well as to Aruba and the Bahamas. The airport serves as a focus city for American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Spirit Airlines and US Airways and their regional affiliates.