Conn. suburbs fight N.Y. air traffic plan

GREENWICH, Conn., Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Leaders of wealthy Connecticut suburbs say they're fighting a plan to untangle the nation's air traffic system by sending more planes over their enclaves.

One of the biggest choke points in the United States' frequently snarled air traffic system is in New York, so the Federal Aviation Administration has unveiled plans to deal with it by changing flight patterns to send more planes over such tony Connecticut suburbs as Greenwich, Stamford and Westport, USA Today reported Tuesday.

But that has drawn the ire of the Alliance for Sensible Airspace Planning, a Connecticut group representing an area where the median household income is $134,000 and has far greater political clout than its modest size would suggest, the newspaper said.

"The FAA needs to be brought under control," said Rudy Marconi, the group's chairman, adding that even though planes would be flying at 6,000 feet over the suburbs, the plan "without a doubt" would ruin their quality of life.

The FAA last year approved untangling plans for New York and Philadelphia after 10 years of study, which it says will cut delays 20 percent and save airlines $285 million a year in fuel, USA Today reported.