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UPDATE
Pursuant to the December 8, 2008, order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to stay slot auctions authorized by the Congestion Management Rule for John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and the Congestion Management Rule for LaGuardia Airport (LGA), the FAA is suspending this activity pending final resolution by the Court.

Delays at all New York airports soared in 2007. These delays resulted in a cascading effect where delays dramatically increased at other airports nationwide. The summer of 2007 became the second worst on record nationally for flight delays. This daunting rise in delays prompted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to limit flight operations at both John F. Kennedy (JFK) and Newark Liberty (EWR) in 2008. The existing caps at LGA, introduced in 2006, remain.

In October 2008, FAA published final rules to address congestion and reduce delays at LGA, JFK and EWR. The LGA (PDF) and JFK/EWR (PDF) final rules grandfather the majority of operations at the airport and will develop a robust secondary market by annually auctioning off a limited number of slots. As part of these rules, a proportion of the slots will be available for lease by a series of annual sealed-bid second-price auctions and awarded to successful bidders for the duration of the final rules. These rules are designed to encourage more efficient airline behavior, help alleviate congestion, and allow access to a small number of new entrants. The agency plans to use the proceeds from the auctions to mitigate congestion and delay in the New York City area.

Updated: 4:37 pm ET December 9, 2008