U.S., critics battle over air congestion

NEW YORK, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. Bush administration and local officials are locked in an ideological struggle over how best to relieve airport congestion in New York, observers say.

With the three New York City-area airports -- Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty -- responsible for three-quarters of the significant air traffic delays in the United States, the White House maintains the best way to improve the situation is to auction off scarce takeoff and landing slots at the airports to the highest bidder, The Washington Post reported Monday.

The Federal Aviation Administration says this will allow market forces to help by encouraging the creation of competitive start-up airlines at the busy airports and mitigate the effects of caps on the number of flights allowed there. But the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and other critics say such pro-competition beliefs aren't going to have any effect on the airports' capacity problems and will only end up costing consumers more.

"This is an ideological, untested experiment from those in an ivory tower," U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., told The Post. He has introduced a bill to block the auctions, agreeing with the major airlines that auctions won't help congestion.