NEW YORK, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Travelers flying in and out of New York City's three main airports often endure delays of 130 minutes or more and the backups spread throughout the country, a new report said on Wednesday.
The cost of these flight delays, from lost work time to wasted fuel and intensified pollution, to the regional economy was more than $2.6 billion last year, the study by The Partnership for New York City estimated.
Kathryn Wylde, the chief executive officer of this network of business leaders, said the study demonstrated that expanding the airports and improving air traffic control systems would 'pay off' for both the region and the country.
'Moreover, the opportunity to correct these conditions is now -- when the federal government is poised to invest in long-neglected infrastructure as a means of stimulating recovery from the global recession,' she said in a statement.
The new national economic stimulus plan includes more than $1 billion in grants for airports, but 438 airports will be vying for that money, according to a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the New York metropolitan area's airports.
In 2008, about 107 million people flew in and out of the area's three major airports -- LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International. That was about one third of the nation's flights, the study said, adding these delays 'are ultimately responsible for nearly three-quarters of nationwide delays.'
Though air traffic has declined during the recession, Wylde said this alone would not correct the problem.
'The extent of the flight delays in the region is not a new problem and will not 'disappear' with the current, temporary drop in flight activity,' she said by e-mail.
JFK Airport, for example, in December saw the number of revenue passengers fall 2.9 percent, the Port Authority said.
Separately, the authority called on the federal government to fully fund the next generation of air traffic control systems, which use global-positioning satellites.
The authority formed a coalition to push Congress to spend for as much as $10 billion for this technology over 10 years.
((Reporting by Joan Gralla; editing by Gary Crosse)) Keywords: NEWYORK AIRPORTS/ (joan.gralla@thomsonreuters.com; +1-646-223-6345; Reuters Messaging: joan.gralla.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
The cost of these flight delays, from lost work time to wasted fuel and intensified pollution, to the regional economy was more than $2.6 billion last year, the study by The Partnership for New York City estimated.
Kathryn Wylde, the chief executive officer of this network of business leaders, said the study demonstrated that expanding the airports and improving air traffic control systems would 'pay off' for both the region and the country.
'Moreover, the opportunity to correct these conditions is now -- when the federal government is poised to invest in long-neglected infrastructure as a means of stimulating recovery from the global recession,' she said in a statement.
The new national economic stimulus plan includes more than $1 billion in grants for airports, but 438 airports will be vying for that money, according to a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the New York metropolitan area's airports.
In 2008, about 107 million people flew in and out of the area's three major airports -- LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International. That was about one third of the nation's flights, the study said, adding these delays 'are ultimately responsible for nearly three-quarters of nationwide delays.'
Though air traffic has declined during the recession, Wylde said this alone would not correct the problem.
'The extent of the flight delays in the region is not a new problem and will not 'disappear' with the current, temporary drop in flight activity,' she said by e-mail.
JFK Airport, for example, in December saw the number of revenue passengers fall 2.9 percent, the Port Authority said.
Separately, the authority called on the federal government to fully fund the next generation of air traffic control systems, which use global-positioning satellites.
The authority formed a coalition to push Congress to spend for as much as $10 billion for this technology over 10 years.
((Reporting by Joan Gralla; editing by Gary Crosse)) Keywords: NEWYORK AIRPORTS/ (joan.gralla@thomsonreuters.com; +1-646-223-6345; Reuters Messaging: joan.gralla.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.