JFK Prepares For Runway Closure

The shutting down of JFK Airport's longest runway is upon us! Starting Monday—when the runway goes under the knife for a 4-month rehabilitation project—expect more delays, longer delays, and maybe even higher airfares due to the cutback in flights. And on top of all that, the Daily News says millions at other airports will also suffer delays more often as part of a ripple effect.

JetBlue has expressed their concern in the past about the runway closure, and now adds to the scaremongering by declaring, "If the airlines run a full schedule on days when we are in a single-runway configuration, the delays will be multiple hours." For their part, the airline has cut down their schedule.

On the bright side, we are told the project "is projected to provide approximately 2,500 jobs and, according to New York Governor David Paterson’s office, will “reduce flight delays overall by an estimated 10,500 hours per year." In the meantime, one optimistic traveler told the Post, "JFK's already a mess, so no one might even notice."

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By Jen Carlson in News on March 1, 2010 5:39 PM

Comments [rss]

Wza

Fuck!

Got a trip out from JFK at the end of the month too!

eyekantspel

On the bright side, we are told the project "is projected to provide approximately 2,500 jobs

Think how many jobs we could create if we shut it down entirely? Or repaved our roads every year (oops, we already do that).

longacre

Other than occasional grants for upgrades from the Federal government, the local airports are self-sufficient and don't receive any tax dollars.

Smitty025

Who pays the TSA and for all their fancy security crap? (Which often doesn't even do what it's supposed to.) Who pays for air traffic controllers?

Running an airport does cost the government a good deal of money.

longacre

Most if not all of that is paid for by taxes assessed on airline tickets and various fees paid by the airlines.

Snoopy

Obviously they are not spending money on hiring good looking stewardesses under the age of 60.

Snoopy

Pay more. Get less. So what else is new?

nicemarmot

I already noticed because I was looking up JetBlue flights to Florida a few weeks ago and I noticed they moved a bunch of the JFK flights to Laguardia. I have a feeling this is going to be worse at the other airports than at JFK itself.