The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey last week got a reprieve in what could prove a lengthy dispute over the Federal Aviation Administration's proposed auctioning of two flight slots at Newark Liberty Airport.
On Thursday, the FAA's general counsel, Kerry Long, granted a stay that stopped the auctioning of flight slots tomorrow while the Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition, an independent office within the agency, reviews a challenge to the proposed auction. The challenge was made by the Air Transport Association Inc., a trade group, and several airlines. The protesters claim that the FAA has no statutory authority to auction the slots.
In his decision, Long wrote that adjudication on the issue would proceed on an expedited basis.
The stay was "the equivalent of winning round one," said Port Authority spokesman Pasquale DiFulco. "Our customers need us to continue battling and we're going to keep fighting until this issue is knocked out not just knocked down."
On the other side, U.S. Department of Transportation spokesman Brian Turmail said in a statement the auctions' delay "means travelers will have to wait a little longer for relief from the high fares, stagnant service, and limited competition that exist when air carriers are denied new access to vital markets."
Last week the Port Authority filed a motion to join a lawsuit brought by the ATA in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit seeking to declare such auctions illegal. That suit could take months to resolve, leaving open the possibility that ODRA could rule on the permissibility of the auctions before the court decides the case.
