Under the plan developed by Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, some slots at Kennedy and LaGuardia airports in New York and Newark Liberty International Airport will be auctioned off. An administration statement called that is a "sensible market mechanism" to ensure competition.

The Air Transport Association released a statement opposing the auction plan.

"Our members and their passengers are frustrated by the DOT's continued fixation on auctions, despite the overwhelming rejection by passengers, airlines and airports to such an experiment," said ATA President James C. May. "These ill-conceived and unlawful proposals are driven by ideology and will not reduce congestion or flight delays."

May said the solution to airport congestion requires "focusing on modernizing and expanding the airspace infrastructure as the traveling and shipping public expects." He said the government is trying instead to curb demand "by making it more costly to fly."