IATA’s Washington office is working aggressively with its members to promote effective short and long-terms solutions to the congestion problems that have plagued New York airports. JFK Airport, in particular, is the largest international gateway to the U.S., served by more than 100 U.S. and foreign airlines. JFK was subjected to record delays during the summer of 2007 and expectations are that this situation will continue to deteriorate unless action is taken.
DOT's Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC)
IATA is represented on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC). The ARC was formed as a result of President Bush's direction to Secretary Mary Peters and FAA's Acting Administrator Bobby Sturgell to take steps to relieve New York congestion by Spring 2008. The ARC is scheduled to make recommendations by December 10, 2007. DOT has also asked the ARC to identify short term measures to meet the Secretary’s commitment to President Bush
DOT is considering a number of measures including operational and infrastructure improvements, auctions and congestion pricing, priority air traffic services, and the adoption of the IATA Worldwide Scheduling Guidelines.
IATA's position
IATA is strongly opposed to congestion pricing as we believe it distorts the market and usually results in a revenue generator for airports/governments rather than bringing a practical solution to the problem - see briefing paper (pdf). We strongly encourage the utilization of the IATA Worldwide Scheduling Guidelines (WSG) to control congestion at these airports. IATAs WSG is a global standard that has been employed successfully for 60 years and is currently followed at 140 Level 3 airports worldwide.