Washington, D.C. — On Friday, February 20, Congressman Rob Andrews and Congressman Joe Sestak announced an alternative to the FAA's flawed Airspace Redesign Plan to reduce air operation delays at Philadelphia International Airport. Congressmen Andrews and Sestak have criticized previous plans by the FAA because of their failure to adequately address community concerns regarding noise mitigation, air emissions, and other environmental impacts. At the request of Congressmen Andrews and Sestak, Rowan University conducted an independent study to examine alternative options to reduce delays at Philadelphia International Airport.

Rowan University's report concludes that the FAA's plan is not only significantly more expensive, but it will be less effective than other practical options. For instance, while the FAA calls for an $840 million runway extension as a means to alleviate congestion, Rowan University has found that by simply diverting 10% of the Philadelphia air operations to the Atlantic City Airport will prove to be more efficient. Atlantic City Airport already has the capacity to accept all types of commercial aircraft and the only additional cost will only be a total of about $1 million to accommodate increased TSA personnel. Additionally, Rowan University indicates that diverting a small percentage of flights to Atlantic City over the next 2 years will result in a 14 minute mean reduction in delays at Philadelphia and surrounding airports. However, the FAA predicts their plan would only reduce delays by 3.2 minutes by 2011.

Congressmen Andrews and Sestak support Rowan University's findings as a more practical alternative to address the staggering delays at Philadelphia and nearby airports. The Congressmen contend that the alternative plan reported by Rowan University suggests a more sensible use of taxpayer's money, as their option is significantly more cost-effective while it directly addresses the community's overwhelming concerns over increased noise and environmental impacts. In the coming weeks, both Andrews and Sestak plan to present the proposal to the federal transportation secretary and FAA officials who will be appointed by President Barack Obama.

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