Reducing flight delays, advancing NextGen and increasing the PFC level to $7 are major factors driving the agenda at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Susan Baer, aviation director for PANYNJ, told attendees during a luncheon sponsored by the International Aviation Club of Washington.
“Flight delays plague the nation’s aviation system,” Baer said. “As demand has risen, the FAA continues to advance research, but regrettably has fallen short on the implementation of solutions that would have helped to mitigate delays.”
According to Baer, aircraft delays threaten the nation’s economic recovery at a cost of more than $9 billion in U.S. productivity. The cost to the New York region alone: $2.6 billion a year.
Baer outlined a number of delay reduction initiatives in New York, including JFK’s reconstruction of the Bay Runway that will result in additional access points on taxiways that will improve aircraft queing, provide swifter departures and enable easier access from taxiways to terminal gates. At Newark, the Authority is preparing to launch a ground-based augmentation system (GBAS) that will allow planes to fly closer together and land faster without compromising safety.
“All of our delay reduction initiatives on the ground will deliver incremental improvements, reduce delays and ease congestion,” Baer said.
However, the FAA and DOT are “ultimately the most critical players in helping reduce delays,” Baer said, calling for the agencies to implement “widespread use of 21st-century satellite systems – aka NextGen.”
Baer made her case with the following points:
- NextGen won’t be cheap. Total FAA spending over the first 10 years is expected to range from $8 billion to $10 billion. Estimates through 2025 range from $15 billion to $22 billion. This does not include the cost to equip aircraft or modify airports.
- According to the Authority’s estimates, 40 million passengers in the New York area could be affected if there is no improvement in congestion, with a cumulative loss of economic activity: $130 billion.
“The cost of inaction is too great,” Baer said, citing the Port Authority’s national coalition – the National Alliance to Advance NextGen – as a major driver for funding for NextGen: the Administration’s budget includes a request for $1.1 billion, a 30 percent increase.
Baer also cited prospective initiatives that could total up to $8 billion in capital investments at the New York-area airports, backing the need to increase the passenger facility charge level to $7.
“The truth is, I wish I could operate my airports and complete all the necessary construction while paying the same wages and contractor fees as I did in 2000, but I can’t,” Baer said, adding that while the cost of construction is rising “stealthily,” the PFC level remains at $4.50.
“Absent additional funding from PFCs, I will not be able to deliver necessary projects that provide direct benefits for our customers, where we’ve seen a growing demand as the economy rebounds.”