DoD helps relieve holiday flight congestion

DoD helps relieve holiday flight congestion
By Terence Hunt - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Nov 15, 2007 16:46:14 EST

WASHINGTON — Ahead of the holiday travel crunch, President Bush ordered steps Thursday to reduce air traffic congestion and long delays that have left passengers stranded.

The most significant change is that the Pentagon will open unused military airspace from Florida to Maine to create “a Thanksgiving express lane” for commercial airliners. It will be open next week for five days — Wednesday through Sunday — for the busiest days of Thanksgiving travel.

Bush said the problems with delayed flights are “clear to anybody who’s been traveling. Airports are very crowded. Travelers are being stranded and flights are delayed, sometimes with a full load of passengers sitting on the runway for hours.

“These failures carry some real costs for the country, not just in the inconvenience they cause but in the business they obstruct and the family gatherings they cause people to miss,” the president said. “We can do better.”

The new plan also will be in effect for the Christmas travel season, and White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said the Federal Aviation Administration was imposing a holiday moratorium on nonessential maintenance projects, allowing all FAA personnel and equipment to be focused on keeping flights on time.

Further, the Department of Transportation will propose doubling the bump fee that airlines must pay to travelers who buy tickets but wind up without a seat. The penalty now is $200 or $400, depending on long the passenger has been inconvenienced. The proposed increase would make the fee $400 to $800. Perino said that rule, if it becomes final, wouldn’t be in place until next summer’s travel season.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/11/ap_airlinedelays_071115/


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/11/ap_airlinedelays_071115/



uhc comment: I didn't realize DoD had their own airspace. Ya learn something every day.

I knew airspace around military installation was restricted. I was thinking in terms of corridors. My bad.

LOL