TRAVELCONSUMERDAILY.COM
SUNDAY, JULY 11, 2010

A STATE-OF-THE-ART flight departure management system, which had previously only been used during winter storms and the recent closure of New York Kennedy airport’s so-called bay runway for works, will be continued as a trial until year’s end to help ease chronic congestion.

TravelDailyNews.com reports the system was in large part responsible for the minimal delays that occurred during the recent closure of JFK’s longest runway, a project completed on schedule and on budget.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has extended the trial program that reduces the number of jets queuing on taxiways by letting passengers remain in the terminal longer before takeoff.

In addition to easing runway congestion, the program will save airlines money in fuel costs, reduce taxi time, limit pollution and ease passengers’ frustrations.

In normal conditions, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) currently has on a "first-called, first-served" system, which requires aircraft to be in a taxi line to secure a departure spot.

The new process ensures no more than eight to 12 planes are in line for takeoff from a particular runway at any time during peak hours, which prevents large numbers of idling planes from stacking up in long lines.

"This program is a triple-win for the 48 million passengers who travel annually through JFK, our airline partners, and the environment," said port authority chairman Anthony Coscia. "The collaboration between the port authority, the FAA, the airlines and private enterprise has been exemplary and is critical to the program's success.

"This is an exciting new program that the port authority spearheaded to do everything we can to reduce flight delays," said port authority executive director Chris Ward. "It is a state-of-the-art approach that we hope will spread to all of our airports (JFK, Newark, LaGuardia and Stewart, 60 miles north of the city) in the near future and set a national standard going forward."

Port authority deputy executive director Bill Baroni said succcess with the new program "can be a model for flight delay reduction projects at other busy airports nationwide".

"This and other programs like promoting next-gen satellite technology to move planes more efficiently shows the agency’s commitment to reducing flight delays here and across the nation," he said.

A variation of the surface management program was used in the past three years during winter operations to help reduce the length of time between de-icing and takeoff by maintaining a short departure queue, thereby mitigating the need for secondary de-icing.

Limiting departure queues to just eight to 12 planes minimises the time passengers spend waiting in line for takeoff, while ensuring a steady stream of flights so capacity is not lost.

If a plane must push back from the gate early to accommodate an arriving flight, it is sent to locations on the tarmac for "metering’’, where it can operate on auxiliary power until its reservation time when it may taxi for takeoff.