Jan 14, 2008 6:48 pm US/Eastern
Feds Announce Congestion Pricing For Airports
Secretary Peters: Airlines Will Be Charged For Peak Landings
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
The New York area is home to the most crowded airports in the country. On Monday, the U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peter came to town to announce another effort to battle the problem.
But as CBS 2 HD has learned, it might end up costing you more.
What's it worth for a flight you could count on? Would you pay more for it?
"If it could guarantee real service from it, why not?" passenger Maxine Finkelstein said.
On Monday federal officials unveiled a plan to charge airlines higher fees to land at peak times. It's a type of congestion pricing for airports.
"The change will give airports the opportunity to handle flights more efficiently," Peters said.
Under the plan, airlines that travel at peak hours would be charged more money. Officials expect they would pass the increases along to their passengers. The plan got a skeptical response from the Port Authority, which runs the areas airports. One told CBS 2 HD he doubted the authority will implement it, or that it would do much good if it did.
Passengers at LaGuardia gave the idea mixed reviews.
"If it says it's going to be that time it should be on that time, I shouldn't have to pay more," Jackie Rohrbach said.
Added Eric Berg: "If it were a reasonable surcharge, a reasonable tariff, I'd gladly pay that for the assurance. I could get where I need to be."
Congressman Jerrold Nadler was also dubious.
"This is just a stopgap measure," Nadler said.
Senator Charles Schumer went even further, saying: "When there is a huge fire, you don't take out a garden hose and say this will do the job."
But the airports are jammed, and the government is searching for solutions. This is just the latest plan. The Federal Aviation Administration recently announced a plan to cap the number of flights at Kennedy Airport.
The question is whether anything will solve the congestion problem, short of expanding airports or building new ones.
Secretary Peters also warned that more than $300 million in federal aid will disappear after April 1, if New York City does not come up with an acceptable congestion pricing plan for Midtown Manhattan.
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