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PRESIDENT BUSH ANNOUNCES NEW MEASURES TO HELP CURB AIRLINE DELAYS
"President Bush yesterday announced measures intended to curb airline delays during the Thanksgiving travel frenzy, including freeing up military airspace for commercial use.
'We can do better,' Bush said at a White House briefing. 'We can have an aviation system that's improved.' The Federal Aviation Administration and the Defense Department will open military airspace from Florida to Maine – creating Thanksgiving express lanes for commercial planes – between Wednesday and Sunday next week.
In addition, the agency will impose a moratorium on nonessential maintenance projects, so equipment and personnel can be focused on holiday travel. … The FAA is also working to improve operations at airports around New York City , which handle nearly one-third of the country's air traffic. About three-fourths of chronic delays across the country can be traced to Newark , LaGuardia and Kennedy airports.
For summer 2008, Bush proposed that the Transportation Department double the compensation passengers receive when they are bumped off overbooked flights. Current rates are $200 to $400."
Source: Kendra Marr, "Bush Frees Up Military Airspace For Thanksgiving," The Washington Post, 11/16/07
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