American airport operator the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, is considering a multi-million dollar plan to redesign of taxiway and runway access at New York JFK.
With record passenger numbers clocked for 2007 at the Authority”s four New York airports ” 110m - 5% more than 2006 ” it is looking for ways to expand capacity.
And to cope with a 12% rise in passengers at JFK to 47.7m last year ” with further projected growth - the operator”s commissioners are seeking to approve a project to develop the airstrip in order to increase efficiencies and mitigate delays caused by taxiway congestion.
Options for improvements include the construction of aircraft departure hold-pads, providing additional space to queue departing flights more efficiently, and build new and extend existing taxiways to reduce runway bottlenecks.
”Congestions and delays undermine our ability to serve passengers, and passenger demand at our airports is only going to continue to increase,” said Port Authority chairman Anthony R Coscia. ”We are doing our part at the Port Authority, in the short term with programmes such as JFK”s runway access improvements, and in the long term, making more than $6bn in airport investments.”
The Authority”s executive director Anthony E Shorris added: ”With every flight delay, with every hour of productivity lost to an aging and outdated air-traffic system, we harm not only our regional economy, but the nation”s economy too.
”Today we”re taking action on one of our Flight Delay Task Force”s most important recommendations, and over the last weeks we have already begun implementing others, working with airlines to rationalise schedules and making immediate improvements to expand capacity.
”Now we urge the Federal Aviation Administration to do its part to help alleviate delays by implementing all of our Task Force”s recommendations for them.”
This $5m authorisation is part of the $150m Runway Access Improvements/JFK Delay Reduction Programme which the Authority”s Board of Commissioners approved back in December 2006.