Tue, Apr 27, 2004
Westchester, Airlines, Close To Deal On Limiting Traffic
New York's Westchester County is putting the finishing touches
on a plan to limit the number of flights into and out of its
airport -- forever.
The county is negotiating with 13 airlines to seal a deal first
cooked up in 1984. The County Board of Legislators extended the
10-year Terminal Capacity Agreement in 1994. It's due to expire at
the end of this year.
"We think it is an exceptional deal," said Transportation
Commissioner Larry Salley in an interview with the Westchester
Journal-News. "The county executive set out a goal to make these
restrictions permanent so that the neighbors surrounding the
airport and the people in Westchester in general would benefit. I
think we've come a long way to achieving that."
The final agreement,
designed to be very much like the one now in place, limits the
number of take-offs and landings to four every half-hour. Each
flight would carry no more than 240 passengers. When one of the 13
airlines now serving Westchester drops a flight, another will be
added in its slot by a lottery.
"I represent a community that is very concerned and sensitive,"
said Legislator Martin Rogowsky (D-Harrison). His district
encompasses many of the airport's neighboring communities. "There's
no doubt I am pleased with what (Salley) has told me. It looks as
if we're getting the four flights, the 240 passenger count ... the
most important current restrictions."
Rogowsky said the new agreement could be in effect for as long
as 20 years.
The FAA has largely stood by and watched the situation unfold
over the past 20 years. "If the airlines voluntarily reduce their
scheduled flights, that's their decision," FAA spokesman Jim Peters
said.
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