Court backs US in fee fight with airlines

[Pieter C. 5]

Court Backs US In Fee Fight With Airlines

 

July 13, 2010

 

A US appeals court on Tuesday upheld a Transportation Department policy that would allow airports to charge airlines higher landing fees during congested periods of the day.

 

In doing so, the court rejected arguments from US airline trade group, the Air Transport Association, which had argued the fees were arbitrary and outside the scope of regulatory authority.

 

"So long as it complies with the applicable statutes, its creativity should be welcomed on its merits, not spurned for its novelty," wrote Judge Douglas Ginsburg.

 

Airport groups supported the policy, imposed in 2008, as a way for them to force airlines to more efficiently schedule their flights by trimming their schedules or using bigger planes.

 

The Federal Aviation Administration for years has been grappling with the industry over reducing flight delays, a chronic problem at crowded airports, including three major ones in the New York area.

 

The regulation never took effect because of the legal challenge and has not been pursued by the Obama administration.

 

(Reuters)