Aug 30, 2007 6:16 pm US/Eastern
FAA Warns Airport Delays Could Grow Even Worse
Official: Summer Headed Into Aviation Record Books
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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FAA officials say delays aren't expected to get any better any time soon, especially for Newark Liberty International Airport.
CBS
It's a story that seems to crop up time and time again these days: airplanes being delayed for hours upon hours leaving passengers tired and frustrated, and sometimes even stuck inside a plan waiting in misery.
By now you may have thought plans were underway to alleviate the long waits, and if you did, well, think again. The Federal Aviation Administration is saying delays at the airport are likely to get even worse.
The news comes before one of the busiest travel weekends of the summer.
"I was up there two hours going around and around, and I'm just sitting there saying I wanna land," said Ray Tuorot, a Rockaway resident who has experienced the awful delays both in the air and on the ground at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Passengers there are often airing their gripes, especially after learning the airport is now ranked dead last in the nation for on-time arrivals.The Bureau of Transportation reported that from January to June of this year, only 56 percent of flights arrived to Newark on time.
The departure rate is better, but experts say not by much. They add what we see at Newark is part of a national aviation trend.
"One of the worst summers on records for delays in aviation history is now headed for the record books," says FAA Administrator Marion Blakely.
The worst part seems to be that airline passengers feel helpless, that they have no recourse. But designed to help is a new bill that is set to take off in the New Jersey Assembly.
Assemblyman Sam Thompson (R-Monmouth) plans to introduce legislation creating a bill of rights to make airline customer service better.
"It's intolerable, and it's inexcusable really," Thompson says.
In February, John F. Kennedy Airport felt the brunt of massive JetBlue delays and cancellations. In the aftermath of this, New York became the first state to institute a "passenger bill of rights."
Thompson's bill for New Jersey is similar to New York's. For passengers stuck on the tarmac for more than three hours, airlines must provide food, water, clean toilets, and fresh air. Airlines who fail to provide those things face fines of $1,000 per passenger.
"I think an airline who said, 'We're going to fight it, were going to oppose it,' would be sending a message: 'We don't give a damn about our passengers, we just care about our bottom line.' I don't think any airline wants to send that kind of message," Thompson says.
Thompson says he'll introduce his bill sometime after the November elections when the Legislature reconvenes.
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