New York's Senator
CHARLES E. SCHUMER

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 22, 2000

SCHUMER: 'TRAVEL MISERY INDEX'S RANKS LAGUARDIA, JFK AND NEWARK AS MOST DELAYED AIRPORTS IN NATION

Schumer Outlines Six Part Plan to Relieve Congestion and Reduce Delays
A typical flight from LaGuardia, JFK and Newark International airports leaves 40 minutes late, which is the worst of the twenty-nine largest U.S. airports, according to a new analysis released today by US Senator Charles E. Schumer. One in seven planes takes off from LaGuardia at least one hour after its scheduled departure time.

Standing in a crowded terminal at LaGuardia airport on the first day of the busiest travel weekend of the year, Schumer outlined a six part plan to reduce congestion and delays at local airports including scheduling more flights during off-peak hours, modernizing the air traffic control system to increase capacity, encouraging airlines and travelers to use MacArthur and Stewart airports, continuing the development of Amtrak bullet trains to reduce dependency on the shuttle, compelling airlines to share information to minimize delays during inclement weather, and requiring airlines to inform leisure travelers of flights with fewer expected delays before issuing the ticket.

"Traveling out of New York's airports has become a frustrating test of patience. It is only going to get worse unless changes are made," said Schumer. "Flying from New York's over burdened airports is becoming unreliable and unbearable, even on the best of days."

Using data from the United States Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Schumer computed a "travel misery index" that combines the typical delay at the gate with the amount of time spent on the runway before the plane takes off. Of the nation's 29 largest airports, Newark International ranks the worst with a travelers misery index of 41 minutes, followed by LaGuardia and JFK with an index of 40 minutes. The travel misery index at the remaining 26 airports averages 27 minutes. Rounding out the worst five airports are Chicago's O'Hare at 35 minutes and Philadelphia International at 32 minutes.

Kennedy, Newark, and LaGuardia have, by far, the longest typical delays on the runway, averaging nearly 30 minutes. A plane's departure is not considered delayed by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics if it leaves the gate on time no matter how long it sits on the runway.
"Every New Yorker has experienced the infuriating hurry up and wait syndrome where you sit on the runway for what seems like an eternity. That is considered an on-time flight by the airlines, but to a traveler, it's nothing but a disguised delay," said Schumer.

According to a report released this summer by the Transportation Department, delays at New York airports are expected to double over the next ten years if congestion at the airport and in the area airspace is not relieved or if air traffic equipment is not modernized. The report projects that runway waits at the three major airports will easily exceed one hour during the morning and evening air traffic rush hours.

Schumer praised efforts by the Port Authority and Federal Aviation Administration to relieve congestion at area airports but said they need to work faster and show results. The FAA has declared a moratorium on new scheduled flights out of LaGuardia and has proposed cutting 75 daily flights. For more than a year, the FAA and the Port Authority have also studied ways to redesign the airspace around New York to increase capacity.

Schumer said that to reduce congestion and delays, the Port Authority, airlines and FAA should put the following reforms at the top of their list:

1. Airlines and the FAA must agree on a system that schedules more flights during off-peak hours. Between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., the average runway waiting time at the three area airports averages less than 20 minutes, compared to 40 minutes during peak times.
2. The FAA must modernize the air traffic control system (TRACON) in Westbury, Long Island, which keeps track of all flights in New York airspace. The most modern computer hardware, known as STARS, has been installed in other areas - including Syracuse - but has yet to be placed in the New York area. The FAA and Port Authority should also finally complete the airspace redesign which has been in the works for five years. New airspace routes would reduce traffic congestion around the three airports.
3. Airlines should increase flights from MacArthur and Stewart airports. Nearly 10,000 flights took off from MacArthur and Stewart this year, with less than 8% experiencing significant delays. 104,000 flights left LaGuardia over the same period with a significant delay rate of 14%. Many people who live on Long Island or in Westchester or the Hudson Valley would prefer to fly out of MacArthur or Stewart if the flights they want are offered there. Spreading take offs would reduce traffic in and around the airports, limit lines and delays within the terminals and reduce air traffic congestion everywhere.
4. Congress must pass the Amtrak bond act to continue the development of high speed bullet trains throughout the Northeast. One-tenth of all weekday flights from LaGuardia are to Boston or Washington. High speed lines would reduce demand on the shuttle and increase runway availability and on-time departures.
5. The FAA should compel airlines to work with each other when bad weather forces delays and cancellations. Currently, airlines hold back information in a game of chicken with other airlines and wait until the last moment before canceling their flights, in hopes of forcing the other airline to cancel first and then selling their empty seats to the airline that just canceled. This practice makes it impossible for air traffic controllers to appropriately schedule take offs and landings, forces connecting flights to wait unnecessarily, and causes a rippling effect throughout the system.
6. Airlines should be required to tell travelers when they are likely to face the fewest delays before issuing their ticket. Many leisure travelers would be willing to fly at off-peak hours if they knew their flight had a better chance of taking off on-time.

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