Editor’s Note: It’s “holiday week” on The Window Seat, and our editors get into the spirit of the season with a series of articles exploring the many facets of this busy travel period.
On Thursday, President Bush announced a plan to reduce congestion in the skies over the Thanksgiving weekend. The plan, which opens up designated military airspace to commercial airlines, has been dubbed the “Holiday Express Lane.”
Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member rokiss.ch.
Depending on how the experiment works over the Thanksgiving holiday, it may again be implemented for the busy December holiday travel season.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is will have air traffic controllers working overtime, will suspend maintenance work, and impose new procedures to ease delays in New York, according to USA Today.
New York Magazine’s recent piece “Gridlock at 30,000 feet” says, “All of New York’s airports, not to mention those in Philadelphia, D.C., Boston, and the rest of New England, use one traffic-choked corridor for the lion’s share of domestic flights, a kind of airborne I-80.” Given that, it does seem that opening another lane to traffic – i.e., the Holiday Express Lane – would help to alleviate the problems. According to USA Today, three-quarters of the nation’s flight delays originate in New York.
Do you think the Holiday Express Lane will work? Let us know, and while you’re at it, share your favorite airport / flight survival tip!
