Reuters reports that airlines can no longer hold but not use takeoff and landing slots at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. The FAA released a temporary plan effective in 2007 that continues strict limits until a permanent plan is implemented. Under the temporary plan, the FAA will maintain the hourly limit of seventy-five takeoffs and landings per hour for scheduled weekday service between 6:00AM and 9:59PM.
The change requires airlines to use each slot eighty percent of the time to qualify to keep it. Carriers often underutilize their slots because of service cuts or to keep competitors out. Slots not meeting this minimum will be reassigned by lottery. The FAA declined to reallocate slots to more low-cost carriers with little or no service at the airport.
