Complain about a product or service

FAA Says New Northeast Routing Plan Will End Gridlock

But residents say benefits aren't worth the added noise

By Dan Schlossberg
ConsumerAffairs.com

September 6, 2007

That’s the dilemma facing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as it battles to find a way to relieve extreme congestion in the skies over the Northeast.

It is a battle: although delays involving the three New York airports are the worst in the nation, residents and their elected officials say proposed changes in airplane routes would intrude on their quality of life.

The issue is airplane noise over now-quiet neighborhoods.

The FAA says its new route plan would not only reduce delays into New York and Philadelphia airports by 20 per cent but would actually reduce overall noise. In addition, the agtency insists its plan would save airlines $285 million per year in fuel, allow controllers to line up landing planes more efficiently, provide pilots with the chance to fly more directly between points, and help aircraft avoid storms more easily.

Although it will be four years before the new FAA route plan will be fully operational, the agency says it will provide coast-to-coast benefits because delays in New York eventually spread across the whole country.

Although the three airports hit hardest by delays this year are Newark, LaGuardia, and John F. Kennedy, where more than 40 per cent of flights have been affected, opponents to the FAA’s plan include both U.S. Senators from New Jersey, Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez.

Rep. Eliot Engel of New York is also outspoken in his opposition. All three say the FAA plan will provide only minor relief in the sky while causing major headaches – literally – on the ground.

The FAA spent 10 years studying the plan, and its potential impact, before approving it this week. It is expected to directly benefit passengers using airports in New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Back to the top |