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DOT 94-04
Contact: Brian Turmail, Tel.: (202) 366-4570
Thursday, June 24, 2004
Airports Must Act Now to Meet Growing Demand for Air Travel, New Study Shows
Transportation Secretary Outlines Plans to Add Capacity, Calls
Communities to Action
ATLANTA – U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta
today released a new study predicting which airports and communities will need
to expand their capacity by the year 2020. Speaking at a news conference in
Atlanta, the Secretary said airports in growing cities like Las Vegas, Tucson,
Albuquerque, Birmingham and Palm Beach will need to expand their ability to
handle more air passengers over the next 16 years. He also listed dozens of
projects underway to meet that growing demand for air travel, and urged more
communities to get involved now in the push to add capacity.
The capacity report is the first of its kind to look at
current air travel patterns, economic and population trends, current air service
and current capacity. According to the study, 23 of the nation’s fastest growing
airports will need to add capacity in order to accommodate air traffic growth
over the next two decades.
“Investing in airports today means jobs and economic
prosperity for tomorrow,” Secretary Mineta said. “Let this report be a wake-up
call to cities across America whose economies are taking off.”
Many of the airports – like Las Vegas, Nevada; West Palm
Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Tucson, Arizona, and Albuquerque, New Mexico
– are in the fast growing southern and southwestern United States. More
established cities, like New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago and
Providence, also are expected to face a capacity crunch.
The Secretary outlined many projects underway by the
Department of Transportation to add capacity. Over the next five years, seven
new runway projects will be commissioned with another 13 runway projects and two
new commercial service airports in the planning stage, he said. The Department
will build seven new air traffic control towers and will also install new, more
efficient, air traffic control equipment in 31 cities, Mineta added.
Secretary Mineta praised cities like Atlanta, Cincinnati and
Minneapolis for making early progress in adding capacity. However, he urged more
communities to partner with the federal government and start adding capacity
now.
The Secretary stressed that communities would not have to go
it alone as he announced two new grants for the Atlanta airport totaling $43
million. The grants will help pay the cost of a new fifth runway and additional
noise reduction measures designed to lessen the impact of the new airstrip on
nearby communities.
The study, Capacity Needs in the National Airspace System:
An Analysis of Airport and Metropolitan Area Demand and Operational Capacity in
the Future and additional information are available on the Internet at
http://www.dot.gov/affairs/links062404.htm.
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