U.S. military to expand air space to ease holiday congestion

Washington

President Bush, citing “an epidemic of airline delays,” announced today that the U.S. military will open up air space to civilian airlines on the U.S. East Coast during the Thanksgiving holiday period.

Noting crowded airports, stranded travelers and passengers forced to sit on runways during long delays, Bush said, “It’s one thing to analyze a problem. The American people expect us to come up with some solutions.”

In response to the worsening congestion, Bush announced a series of steps in advance of the Thanksgiving holidays, when 27-million passengers are expected to fly, and called on Congress to pass reforms for the long-term.

Among the other measures announced today, Bush said that the government would set up a website -- www.fly.faa.gov -- that would give passengers real-time information about delays, and would promulgate new regulations to double compensation for passengers -- up to $800 - who are bumped from flights. The Federal Aviation Administration, he said, will also impose a holiday moratorium on nonessential maintenance projects, allowing all FAA personnel and equipment to focus on the task at hand.

The administration is also asking airlines to spread out their flights throughout the day and offer what Bush called “congestion pricing,” which has worked in other parts of the economy. And, he said, the FAA is looking at another rule that would define flight delays as “unfair and deceptive practices,” which come with a hefty monetary penalty.

“These failures carry real costs for the country,” Bush said. “We can do better.”

johanna.neuman@latimes.com