US Airways wants Philadelphia exemption from tarmac delay rule, citing proximity to New York
By Joshua Freed, APTuesday, March 23, 2010
US Airways seeks exemption from delay rule
MINNEAPOLIS — US Airways is joining other airlines with big East Coast operations that want exemptions from new rules punishing long tarmac delays.
Other big airlines have asked for exemptions for the three New York-area airports. In a new filing, US Airways wants to add Philadelphia International Airport to the list. It’s only about 100 miles by air from the New York airports and shares their air traffic control jurisdiction. It may share their delay problems, too, US Airways wrote in the filing with the Transportation Department.
Beginning April 29, flights that sit more than three hours on the tarmac will be subject to fines that could add up to millions of dollars for a single plane, if the Transportation Department invokes the maximum penalty.
Those delays can happen anywhere. But airlines are especially worried about the New York airports. The main runway at New York’s John F. Kennedy International closed for four months on March 1, and that’s expected to snarl air traffic.
JetBlue and Delta Air Lines have asked for exemptions from the delay rule at JFK, followed by American Airlines. Continental Airlines wants to add Newark Liberty, where it has a hub.
The filing by US Airways Group Inc. late Monday said Philadelphia, where it has a hub, will suffer from the JFK runway closure, too. It said that on March 13, 11 flights headed for New York-area airports diverted to Philadelphia because of bad weather. The extra demand caused a delay for departures from Philadelphia.
“This resulted in clogged taxiways and gates” at Philadelphia, and the control tower had to tell the Federal Aviation Administration that it could not accept any more diverted planes, US Airways said.
The airline, based in Tempe, Ariz., said it would not support any exemption that leaves out Philadelphia.
The Transportation Department hasn’t ruled on the requests. “We expect to issue a decision shortly,” spokesman Bill Mosley said on Tuesday.
