Aviation proposal to benefit Maine Air traffic control focus of FAA plan

AUGUSTA – The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing an $11.5 billion dollar, 10-year plan to upgrade airports and air traffic control systems around the country. Maine officials say the state’s airports, and people using them, will benefit if the proposals are adopted.

“From what I have seen, most of the benefit will be for the airports in Bangor and Portland,” said Ron Roy, director of the Office of Passenger Transport in the Maine Department of Transportation. “But, that is to be expected because that is where most of the traffic in and out of Maine occurs. But, I think the real benefit to Maine people will be in an improved air traffic control system across the nation.”

Roy said the fact that flights from Maine leave on time is of little consolation to Mainers stranded for hours at a major hub airport waiting for a delayed connecting flight. FAA documents indicate a plane delayed for just five minutes at Newark International Airport in New Jersey, well known to many Maine travelers, creates delays for more than 250 other planes.

The FAA acknowledges it’s air traffic control system is outdated and in need of a major upgrade. Statistics from the agency tell the story. Between 1995 and 1999, delays went up from 11 percent of all flights to 58 percent. In 1999 the length of delays was up 18 percent. In those same four years, delays on the ground went up 130 percent. And outright cancellations rose 68 percent.

The FAA proposal outlines a series of projects to upgrade radar and communications links throughout the United States. The latest in satellite and computer technology would be employed to keep track of the thousands of flights that may be in the air at any moment. Some of the proposals have estimated costs in the hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade the system, while others are concepts with costs yet to be estimated.

“We have had some recent upgrades in Maine, like the radar at Gray,” Roy said. “So I think we are in pretty good shape in the state. Where this will help is in the connecting flights outside of Maine.”

Sen. Olympia Snowe serves on the Senate Commerce Committee that oversees the FAA. She has personally witnessed the delays and has called for a major overhaul of the nation’s air traffic control system.

“Flight delays are literally out of control and consumer confidence is at an all time low,” she said. “This is our wake-up call, and modernization is critical. After all, by some estimates, air traffic congestion is expected to grow by upwards of 50 percent by 2008, and more than 100 percent by 2015.”

Hearings on the plan are scheduled this week before the House Transportation Committee. Rep. John Baldacci said no one doubts the need to improve the infrastructure of the air transport system, but he said it will take more than new equipment to ease the congestion.

“As long as we have so many flights routed through the same hubs, we will have problems,” he said. “I think we need the full implementation of AIR-21 before we will really see less congestion.”

AIR-21, the Aviation Investment and Reform Act, is the legislation passed last year that uses incentives to create more regional air traffic. Baldacci said the $3.2 billion dollar plan should help reduce congestion between the hubs as some are bypassed by regional airlines.

“We need to see more flights between Bangor and Hartford, and between other non-hub airports,” he said.

Sen. Susan Collins said her weekly commutes from Maine to Washington have made her very aware of the increasing air traffic congestion. She agreed with Baldacci that AIR-21 has provided funds for major airport improvements in Maine, but she also agreed with Roy that the nation’s air traffic control system needs to be modernized.

“The modernization plan put forth by the FAA is a good first step,” she said. “However, it needs to be reviewed carefully. Moreover, Congress and the FAA need to work together to provide the resources and the guidelines to ease this growing problem.”

Roy said DOT has requested, through a bond issue, the state funds to match available federal dollars for a wide range of runway repairs and improvements at 27 airports in Maine over the next two years. If approved by the Legislature, voters will be asked in the fall to borrow $61 million through bonding with $3.25 million of that bond issue earmarked for airport improvements.

“And that will generate over $38 million in airport improvements, from major projects at our largest airports to important improvements at our smallest ones,” Roy said.

Most of the projects receive 90 percent of the cost from federal appropriations with 5 percent from the state and 5 percent from the local government that operates the airport. Portland International Jetport and Bangor International Airport are the biggest beneficiaries under the state plan with proposed Portland projects totaling $13.9 million and proposed Bangor improvements totaling $6.6 million.

Other airports with major funding over the next two years under the bond proposal are: Auburn, with $2.5 million in projects, Owls Head with $2.4 million, Pittsfield with $2.3 million, and Trenton with $1.9 million.