ACI-NA Offers Congress and DOT Recommendations on Addressing Airline Delays and Passenger Needs

Airports Testify in House T & I Subcommittee Hearing

CONTACT:
Eileen Denne, edenne@aci-na.org (202) 293-4537

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, DC (Sept. 26, 2007) –  In testimony today before the House Aviation Subcommittee, Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) discussed how airports are affected by extended airline delays and reviewed the pro-active measures airports are implementing to help reduce passenger inconvenience.

According to ACI-NA, the majority of airports already have contingency plans to provide assistance to airlines during extended ground delays, when such help is requested.

"However, we know these plans can be enhanced and many airports are already scheduling meetings with their airline partners to incorporate the same successful procedures used for snow storms and construction disruption," ACI-NA President Greg Principato testified.

ACI-NA also supported the "Departure Queue Management Pilot Program" contained in H.R. 2881, enacted by the House on September 20. "When implemented, this pilot program will have the added benefit of greatly reducing the amount of fuel burned and emissions produced by taxiing or idling aircraft on the airfield," said Principato.

 Other ACI-NA recommendations to help reduce airline delays and passenger inconvenience include:

• Congress should increase the ceiling on the Passenger Facility Charge user fee to $7.00, providing airports the financial tools necessary to build new runways, taxiways and terminals to reduce delays and meet growing airline passenger demand.
• DOT regulations should be expanded to all code-sharing airlines to report delay and mishandled baggage information to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
• DOT regulations should require reporting on the impact on air travelers of flight cancellations and diversions as the current data does not include the impact of rebooking problems for passengers, which often result in significant delay and inconvenience.
• The maximum limits on compensation for denied boarding should be increased.
• New technologies and procedures should be used to relieve existing problems of congestion and delay and to provide additional capacity.
• Airport proprietors should be permitted to manage their own capacity in ways that encourage more efficient use of airport infrastructure, maintain a safe environmental and operational balance and respond to community complaints about delays.

"Clearly there is no "one size fits all" program for congestion management," Principato added. "However, federal policy must allow airports the regulatory and legal flexibility necessary to put passengers first to help manage delays by implementing local initiatives to resolve congestion. Solutions can be effectively implemented to promote competition and protect service to small communities; benefiting passengers, airlines and airports."

View Principato's testimony.

About ACI-NA:
The mission of Airports Council International - North America (ACI-NA) is to advocate policies and provide services that strengthen the ability of air carrier airports to serve their passengers, customers and communities. ACI-NA represents local, regional and state governing bodies that own and operate commercial airports in the United States and Canada. ACI-NA member airports enplane more than 95 percent of the domestic and virtually all the international airline passenger and cargo traffic in North America. Nearly 400 aviation-related businesses are also members of the association, which is the largest of the five worldwide regions of Airports Council International.