DOT Sets Flight Cap at Newark to Ease Delays

March 11, 2008

DOT Sets Flight Cap at Newark to Ease Delays
March 11, 2008 – U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced this week an agreement to limit the flights at Newark Liberty Airport. According to a release from the Department of Transportation, airlines serving this airport have agreed to temporarily cap and spread flights for two years. This should allow an additional 30 more flights per day and is hoped to ease delays.

The DOT says that the cap, which will go into effect in May, will apply to both domestic and international flights. It should allow an average of 83 flights per hour during peak periods.

"We have an obligation to travelers to do everything in our power to prevent a repeat of the horrors they experienced last summer," Secretary Peters said. "Delays in New York are a regional problem, not just a single-airport problem."

The Associated Press reports that this cap is similar to the one that is set to begin at the John F. Kennedy International Airport this month. The caps will be in place at Newark and JFK for two years.