Flight limits for NY airports

Washington - To help reduce the number of delays at airports, lesser flights will be allowed in and out of New York's airports.

The government plans to open up military airspace to commercial air space traffic on both East and Wests coasts. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said she had no choice other than to cap the number of planes during the most busiest hours.

The plan is to moderate air traffic around New York City's major airports -- JFK, LaGuardia and Newark -- by moving more flights to low-peak, midday hours. Subsequently, the overall number of flights during the day should rise.

Under these new rules, that will take effect in March, JFK International Airport will be allowed only 83 flights per hour during high-peak times, considerably down from the 90 to 100 flights that were scheduled this past summer. Newark will see similar caps, and La Guardia already has limits on flights.

Critics believe capping the number of flights at popular travel times could lead to much higher ticket prices or require travelers to fly at inconvenient times.

These three major airports have the worst on-time arrival record compared to the rest of the major U.S. airports. Officials say New York delays have a domino effect throughout the system, thus causing three-quarters of all delays in the U.S.

Federal officials say the NY airport restrictions are a short-term remedy that should last about two years. They are hopeful that modernized systems and newer technology will enable much more capacity in the NY region.

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