US air traffic congestion was given considerable attention recently in Washington, where lawmakers and Bush Administration officials are under increasing pressure to alleviate what Air Transport Assn. President and CEO James May called "an increasingly serious national crisis of flight delays."

President George W. Bush vowed that the Dept. of Transportation and FAA would move quickly to "address the problem". Meanwhile, the Sep. 30 deadline for FAA reauthorization passed over the weekend with no new financing system approved by Congress. An agency spokesperson said Congress has agreed to pass a three-month extension and that FAA operations will be "status quo to the end of the year." The House of Representatives has cleared a version of FAA reauthorization legislation objected to by Bush, airlines and a number of prominent senators.

Officials are focused particularly on the crowded New York-area airspace. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said she will push carriers to schedule fewer flights during peak hours at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports. She said it could become necessary for the government to impose solutions such as a mandated de-peaking and/or a regulated pricing regime for landing slots. She warned that a "return to the days of government-regulated flights and limited competition" at the New York airports might be warranted.

Airlines argued that factors beyond their control contribute significantly to congestion, such as an outdated radar-based ATC system and a proliferation of corporate aircraft in major markets.

Continental Airlines Senior VP-Network Strategy Zane Rowe testified at a Senate aviation subcommittee hearing recently that "any fix [in New York] must include all users, including corporate and general aviation." He explained that airline aircraft take up just 53% of the New York-area airspace on an average day. Corporate jets' rise is "a grave concern to us," he said, adding that business aviation is "clearly impacting our schedules" and warning against a "knee-jerk reaction" that would disproportionately affect airlines.

American Airlines Executive VP-Maintenance and Operations Robert Reding told the same hearing that corporate jets "add to the woes of congestion in New York airspace."

But Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) said airlines must take responsibility. "The system is stressed but your policies are stressing," he told Rowe and Reding, pointing to "delays related to crew problems and service problems" and overscheduling. "We are on the precipice of aviation gridlock," he said.