"FAA preps O'Hare for growth"

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

FAA preps O'Hare for growth
Building, airspace limits set with eye to expansion
By Jon Hilkevitch
The Chicago (IL) Tribune


The Federal Aviation Administration is prohibiting construction near
O'Hare International Airport or changes in air-traffic patterns at
regional airports that would interfere with an expanded O'Hare,
officials said Monday.

Chicago officials welcomed the developments, while the FAA cautioned the
action does not indicate whether the agency will approve the expansion
plan when it issues a decision expected late next year.

The FAA review studied how O'Hare's expansion would affect existing or
planned traffic at neighboring airports and the surrounding airspace. It
also looked at the city's proposed airport layout on the safety of
people and property on the ground near the airport.

"The review protects the airspace around O'Hare until a determination on
the project is completed," said Barry Cooper, manager of the FAA's
Chicago Area Modernization Program Office.

Chicago aviation officials nonetheless hailed the FAA analysis as
validation of their eight-runway O'Hare redesign and as a key step
toward approval to start pouring concrete on the almost-$15 billion
expansion project.

"What the letter from the FAA signals for the first time is that we have
a project that is potentially going to be developed," said Rosemarie
Andolino, city director of the O'Hare expansion project. "It's
important. The FAA is protecting the airspace and controlling what can
be built around the airport."

FAA officials also said their analysis was not designed to address
whether the proposed O'Hare modernization would produce enough capacity
and efficiencies to increase flights and reduce delays to levels claimed
by the Daley administration.

Airline over-scheduling at O'Hare has caused delays to hit record highs
this year, causing on-time performance to plummet at airports across the
nation. Negotiations between the FAA and 16 airlines to reduce O'Hare
flights as a short-term solution entered a second week Monday, but no
substantive progress was reported.

Chicago aviation officials say flight capacity would increase to 1.6
million takeoffs and landings a year at an expanded O'Hare, up from
about 975,000 flights expected this year, and delays would be cut 79
percent overall and 95 percent in poor weather.

Project critics, who contend adding runways won't solve O'Hare gridlock,
said they want to see the results of pending FAA studies.

The FAA decision will remain valid until Jan. 31, 2006, the agency said.
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey has voiced support for O'Hare expansion
and planned construction of a third regional airport. The FAA review
also took into consideration airspace requirements for the proposed
south suburban airport near Peotone, said FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro.

Part of the FAA's review is focused on how well the reconfigured
airfield would operate in regard to delays at specific flight volumes
and weather conditions. Computer simulations for the FAA concentrate on
various stages of the expansion project--2007, 2009, 2013, and when the
airfield is fully rebuilt in 2018 under the city's construction
timetable.

Earlier computer modeling conducted for the city showed unacceptably
long delays in certain conditions well before flight levels reached 1.3
million, sparking questions about the benefits of the project in light
of the high costs.

Former FAA officials hired by Bensenville and Elk Grove Village to
challenge O'Hare expansion said more studies will confirm the city's
plan doesn't add up.

"The FAA is saying planes would be able to fly into and out of an
expanded O'Hare safely. But no one has shown that O'Hare could handle
the 1.6 million flights claimed by Chicago, what the level of delays
would be and how they are going to deal with the limitations imposed by
congested airspace," said J.E. Murdock, a Washington-based aviation
consultant working for the two northwest suburbs.


 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcfp/dcboard.php


*****************************************