[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 181 (Tuesday, September 18, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48157-48159]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-23287]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


High Density Traffic Airports; Slot Allocation and Transfer 
Method

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Statement of policy.

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SUMMARY: This action extends until October 31, 2001 the temporary 
policy issued on November 11, 2000, regarding the minimum slot usage 
requirement for slots and slot exemptions at LaGuardia Airport. 
Additionally, the FAA advises all carriers that in view of recent 
events in the New York and Washington, DC areas, which resulted in the 
cessation of commercial air service nationwide, a separate policy 
providing appropriate relief from the slot usage requirement will be 
issued in the near future.

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 15, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lorelei Peter, Office of the Chief 
Counsel, AGC-220, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence 
Avenues, SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone number 202-267-3073.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On November 17, 2000, the FAA published in the Federal Register a 
statement of policy regarding the slot usage requirement at LaGuardia 
Airport to address the high level of delay air carriers at LaGuardia 
experienced due to the increased number of operations under the 
``Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st 
Century'' (``AIR-21'') (65 FR 69601). As a result of AIR-21, air 
carriers meeting specified criteria could obtain slot exemptions for 
new entrant service or service to small communities at New York's 
LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Chicago's 
O'Hare International Airport; a separate regime for increasing service 
opportunities was authorized for Washington DC's Ronald Reagan 
Washington National Airport. Subsequent to this legislation, the 
Department of Transportation issued eight orders establishing 
procedures for the processing of applications for these slot 
exemptions.
    FAA air traffic operations data reported by OPSNET for September 
2000 indicated that there were 1,163 average daily operations at 
LaGuardia, an increase of approximately 18 percent over the September 
1999 level of 982 average daily operations. OPSNET also reported that 
air traffic control delays of 15 minutes or more at LaGuardia increased 
to 10,515 in September 2000 from 3,108 in September 1999. The 
percentage of flights recorded with air traffic delays increased to 
30.13 percent from 10.55 percent. In comparison, the second highest 
level of OPSNET reported air traffic delays was at Newark International 
Airport, where the

[[Page 48158]]

percentage of flights delayed showed a small decline to 8.5 percent in 
September 2000 compared to 8.7 percent in September 1999.
    In September 2000, the FAA Air Traffic Control System Command 
Center regularly implemented traffic management programs to handle the 
increased volume of flights at LaGuardia. Peak period demand routinely 
exceeded airport capacity. Delays of one hour or more were frequent, 
even during ideal weather conditions, and often increased to several 
hours when adverse aviation weather reduced system capacity. Many 
airlines operationally addressed the increased delays through various 
means including waiting for the assigned clearance time, canceling 
flights, reaccommodating passengers on later flights, and adding flying 
time to account for increased operating times. Thus, the agency found 
it necessary to implement a temporary usage policy to accommodate 
carriers in managing their operations at the airport during this time.
    This policy permitted carriers to return temporarily to the FAA the 
slots or slot exemptions in advance due to scheduled planning or other 
decisions by the carriers without jeopardizing the permanent loss of 
the slot or slot exemption. Additionally, the policy provided that the 
FAA would treat a slot or slot exemption as having been used if the 
flight was scheduled but canceled for operational reasons and the slot/
slot exemption would not otherwise have been subject to withdrawal. 
Consequently, the policy provided some immediate relief and/or 
flexibility to carriers to schedule or cancel flights due to the 
increased level of delay occurring daily at the airport. This policy 
originally was effective through the April 2001 reporting period. On 
February 14, 2001, the FAA extended this policy through September 14, 
2001, and modified the policy to permit the return of AIR-21 slot 
exemptions for weekend frequencies only but retained the provision 
allowing the temporary return of slots (66 FR 10931; February 20, 
2001).
    As a result of the increased volume of operations described above, 
and the consequent adverse impact on operations at the airport and 
across the air traffic system in whole, the FAA limited the number of 
AIR-21 slot exemptions at LaGuardia and reallocated the slot exemptions 
by a lottery on December 4, 2000. Through this lottery, the FAA 
reallocated 159 slot exemptions among participating carriers; this 
allocation was originally to remain in effect until September 15, 2001, 
but recently was extended until October 26, 2002 (66 FR 41294; August 
7, 2001).
    By letter dated August 13, American Airlines, Inc., TWA Airlines 
LLC, and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. requested an extension of the 
temporary usage policy until October 26, 2002. By letter dated August 
14, Continental and Continental Express requested a similar extension 
of the usage policy. Both requests stated that since the agency had 
extended the AIR-21 slot exemption allocation until October 26, 2002, 
an extension of the policy to coincide with that extension is 
consistent with FAA's stated rationale when it extended the policy in 
February 2001. Delta Airlines likewise submitted a request to extend 
the policy until October 26, 2002, based on the same justification 
provided by American and Continental. Delta also commented that if the 
agency determined to not extend the policy, that the September-October 
reporting period should be extended until December 31, 2001.

Agency Response

    The limitation on the number of AIR-21 slot exemptions became 
effective on January 31, 2001. At the time that the agency extended the 
temporary usage policy in February 2001, approximately 35 allocated 
High Density Rule slots and a number of the 159 authorized slot 
exemptions were not in service due to temporary returns or delays in 
start-up. Also at that time, the agency did not have a basis on which 
to assess the operational impact of the limited reallocation and to 
make any conclusions as to the effect of the limitation on slot 
exemptions on the operating environment at LaGuardia and the national 
airspace system. Consequently, the FAA decided to extend the policy to 
coincide with the slot exemption allocation so that the agency could 
monitor operations at the airport, discern measurable impact, and 
provide carriers with sufficient time to adjust their operations given 
the new reallocation of slot exemptions.
    Today, carriers are experiencing a significantly different 
operating environment at LaGuardia. The FAA has established a limit of 
75 scheduled operations per hour, which reflects the airport's 
capacity, provides opportunity for growth above the High Density Rule 
limits as provided under AIR-21 provisions, and ensures that scheduled 
demand will not reach the levels experienced at the airport beginning 
in September 2000. The operational benefits are reflected in the 
significant delay reductions after the lottery results were 
implemented. For example, the number of flights delayed by 15 minutes 
or more during July 2001 was 2,434, or about 7 percent of total airport 
operations for the month. Preliminary data for August 2001 indicates 
approximately 12 percent of airport operations were delayed. In each of 
the two months preceding the implementation of the temporary usage 
policy in November 2000, there were over 10,000 monthly delays, 
impacting up to 30 percent of total airport operations. Although a 
limited number of weekday slots have been returned under the temporary 
usage policy and most of the 21 exemptions reallocated in the August 
15, 2001 lottery have not begun service, the FAA does not believe their 
full operation will significantly alter the current operational 
environment at LaGuardia. The operating environment at the airport has 
improved significantly from one year ago and the unpredictable delay 
situation prompted by continuing and significant increases in the 
number of exemption flights, which warranted adoption of the policy, no 
longer exists today. The FAA will continue to monitor operations at the 
airport and will revisit this issue if there is a change in the 
operating environment that warrants reconsideration of the usage 
requirement at LaGuardia.
    The slot usage requirements under the regulations were last revised 
in 1992 and at that time, the FAA specifically addressed the fact that 
adoption of the 80 percent usage threshold takes into account certain 
factors such as weather and operational delay. The adopted 80 percent 
usage requirement provides an appropriate balance that ensures limited 
slot resources are used and allows a reasonable 20 percent level of 
non-operation due to operational, scheduling, or other reasons. The FAA 
finds that based on the above factors describing airport operations, 
there is no current operational reason to maintain the temporary policy 
until October 26, 2002. In order to accommodate schedules already 
planned through the remainder of the summer scheduling season, however, 
the FAA is extending this policy until the end of the September-October 
reporting period. Therefore, this policy will expire on October 31, 
2001. While the agency is not adopting Delta's suggestion to extend the 
September/October reporting period until December 31, 2001, the FAA 
notes that under the minimum slot usage provisions, any slot held by a 
carrier at a High Density Traffic Airport is treated as used on the 
following days: Thanksgiving Day, the Friday following Thanksgiving Day 
and the period from

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December 24 through the first Saturday in January (14 CFR 93.227(l)). 
This provision, in addition to the limited extension of the usage 
policy to accommodate the summer scheduling season, provides carriers 
with adequate time to adjust their operations if necessary. The FAA 
also notes that carriers, who may experience usage issues for the 
September/October or November/December reporting period may utilize the 
provisions of the buy-sell rule to make slots available to other 
operators through the transfer process.
    In the past when circumstances dictated that relief of general 
applicability from the slot usage requirement was necessary, the agency 
has waived the slot usage requirement for all carriers at certain High 
Density Traffic Airports. The FAA advises that the recent events in the 
New York and Washington, DC areas, which resulted in the temporary 
cessation of all commercial air service in the United States, warrant 
similar consideration. Consequently, the agency currently is 
considering the appropriate relief and will publish such policy in the 
Federal Register in the near future.

    Issued in Washington, DC on September 13, 2001.
David G. Leitch,
Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 01-23287 Filed 9-14-01; 11:24 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P