The expansion plans - if any - of the dozen US airports that the FAA states suffered the most delays in 2000 are shown below ranked in order of delays.
1 New York LaGuardia: No new runways are proposed to be added because of geographic limitations. Technological and procedural improvements can increase capacity by 3-10% over the next 10 years, while demand is forecast to increase by 17% over that decade.
2 Newark International: No new runways are proposed to be built here because of geographic limits. With improved technology and new air traffic procedures, Newark's capacity should improve by 10% in good weather and by 7% in bad weather. But the FAA expects demand to increase by 20% over that time.
3 Chicago O'Hare: A runway project that was shelved in 1994 could be in place by 2008 or 2009 if construction begins by 2005/ 2006. But the $2 billion project faces continued opposition as debate over a proposed third Chicago-area airport continues. The FAA expects demand at O'Hare to grow by 18% over the next decade, and increase the imbalance between capacity and demand.
4 San Francisco International: Local and environmental objections have made expansion contentious. No new runway could come into service before 2009, and the costs, including environmental mitigation, could reach $10 billion. The FAA says technological and procedural changes are not expected to increase SFO's good weather capacity over the next 10 years.
5 Boston Logan: A new $33 million commuter-plane runway that could cut delays in some weather conditions by as much as 60% has faced community opposition for years. Construction would not begin before 2002, and the runway will not add capacity at Logan but instead would mitigate delays. Demand at Logan is expected to grow by 6% over the next decade.
6 Philadelphia International: A new runway is now in use here, and this, along with technological and air traffic improvements, will increase the airport's capacity by 11-17% over the next decade. But demand is expected to rise at Philadelphia by 23% over the same period, and that is "expected to significantly increase delays," says the FAA.
7 New York JFK: No new runways are proposed to be added here because of geographic limits. Procedural and air traffic changes will increase capacity by 2-3%, but demand is expected to grow by 18% over the decade.
8 Atlanta Hartsfield: A new $1billion runway that could increase capacity by 27-31% could be in service in 2005 if its environmental review is completed this summer. Technology would bring the airport's capacity up by 34-37%. Demand is expected to increase by 28% over the decade.
9 Houston George Bush Intercontinental: A new runway is scheduled for completion in 2004. This is expected to increase Houston's capacity by 35-37% and, with technological improvements, airport capacity will grow by 41-42%. Demand is expected to increase by 34% over this period.
10 Dallas/Fort Worth: a runway that could open as early as 2007 would improve DFW capacity by 3.5-4%. Coupled with new technology that allows quadruple parallel instrument approaches, it could improve it by as much as 21%. The $350-million project is in the environmental review stage.
12 Phoenix: A new third runway opened at Phoenix this year, and this, along with technological and air traffic control changes, will increase the airport's capacity by 40% over the next ten years. Demand is expected to increase by 31% over the same decade.
12 Los Angeles International: No new runways are planned because of local opposition. Capacity would be expanded by new taxiways and increased use of alternative airports in the region, according to regional planners. Technology would improve capacity by 4-11% over the next decade, while demand is expected to grow by 25%. This indicates that delays "will increase substantially in the future," says the FAA.
Source: Airline Business
