Tarmac rule will cost airlines

The new passenger rights rule imposed by Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will create chaos at airports across the U.S. due to a few highly publicized incidents.

This over reaction will leave people stranded at airports causing them to find alternative modes of transportation or simply cancel their travel plans. The economic repercussions will not only affect the airlines but all businesses and jobs that benefit from airline travel.

The Airport and Airway Development Act and the Airport and Airway Revenue Act of 1970 were established to create funding for airports, navigational systems, and Air Traffic Control as the demand for commercial flights increase. Anyone who flew during the boom in '90s can attest to the lack of Air Traffic Control Services available as their flights backed off the gate just to hold on a remote pad for takeoff.

As they do today, back then the excuse DOT officials gave was that the airlines scheduled too many flights during peak periods. In 2005 United Airlines and American Airlines were forced to reduce the number of flights to O'Hare airport to reduce congestion only to allow now defunct Independence Air to add flights using smaller aircraft, which was significant as Air Traffic Control uses the same separation minima for each jet regardless of size.

Effectively, the DOT only reduced the number of paying passengers flying to O'Hare. Not only is this damaging to the businesses and jobs that are supported by the traveling public but it also creates losses for the airlines.

The unintended consequences from the new tarmac rule will outweigh the minimal benefit as the airlines are forced to proactively cancel fights out of fear of being fined or taxi aircraft back to the gate and then cancel due to crew duty rules.

Garret Petersen

Elgin