Bush will open military airspace to commercial flights over holidays

President Bush on Thursday (November 15) announced that his administration has ordered new steps to relieve air traffic congestion over the holidays, as record numbers of travelers are expected to take to the skies. In a measure that appears to be a first, Bush said the FAA and the Defense Department will cooperate to turn over some restricted military airspace to commercial jetliners on the busiest travel days – specifically, five days around Thanksgiving. The airspace will extend from Maine to Florida, over the East Coast. Bush said travelers can also use the FAA’s online resources at www.Fly.FAA.gov to get real-time information on airport delays, and to sign up for delay notices via mobile devices. And he said the FAA is deferring work on non-essential maintenance projects that could limit flight operations. Bush also noted that the Transportation Department has some rule changes in the works that should benefit passengers, although they aren’t likely to take effect until next summer. One would double travelers’ compensation when they are bumped from overbooked flights; another would penalize airlines for flights that are consistently late.

If you are unfortunate enough to be traveling by air over the Thanksgiving holiday period – which the airlines liberally define as November 16-27 – you’ll have plenty of company. The Air Transport Association, the airline trade group, predicts that passenger numbers during that period will rise by 4 percent over last year, and that planes will be 90 percent full, on average, over the entire 12-day period (vs. an average of 80 percent so far this year). The worst crowding, ATA says, is expected on Sunday, November 25; Monday, November 26 and Wednesday, November 21, in that order. The organization said its airline members are taking extra steps to accommodate the crowds – and any possible delays or operational disruptions – including: adding more employees over the holidays; enabling online itinerary-change functionality; blocking seats in key markets on peak days to rebook passengers affected by cancellations or weather delays; adding self-service kiosks on the secure side of terminals so rebooked passengers can obtain boarding passes more easily; waiving change fees for customers whose plans are disrupted; increasing connecting times during peak periods; and starting to board planes earlier for full flights.