By PETER COX
May 26, 2008
Flight delays aren't only causing headaches - they're hurting our wallets.
"In 2007, New Yorkers took a $5 billion punch in the gut from flight delays," Sen. Charles Schumer said yesterday.
Based on a new government report, Schumer estimates that delays at New York's airports - among the nation's most congested - cost the New York City area's economy $4.9 billion per year.
Schumer proposed three steps to cut delays: permanently opening military airspace to commercial flights, giving more power and money to the FAA's newly created "Air Czar" for New York, and creating an FAA/airline task force to find solutions to the congestion nightmare.
"The FAA needs to bring these flight delays under control and give travelers some long overdue relief," he said.
