Airport Check-in: Maryland bill would add slots at BWI

ByABC News
February 22, 2009, 11:24 PM

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State lawmakers in Maryland want to install slot machines at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall, a controversial plan that faces stiff opposition.

A state bill, proposed by Delegate Eric Bromwell, who represents Baltimore County, proposes to install 3,000 slots at the airport's terminal. They'd be placed in post-security areas, restricting access to only those who have a boarding pass. Gov. Martin O'Malley opposes the idea.

The proposal follows a state referendum last year that legalized slots as a revenue source for public schools and other uses.

One of the country's longest runways New York John F. Kennedy's Runway 13-31 will close for about four months in 2010 while it's gutted and rebuilt.

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, which will spend $292 million on the project, says airlines will "adjust" schedules to mitigate delays, and the three remaining runways will be used "to their full capabilities." The 14,572-foot runway handles about a third of the airport's flights, including more than half of all departures.

The project, slated to start in March 2010, calls for paving the runway with 18 inches of concrete, which has a lifespan up to five times longer than asphalt. The runway will also be widened from 150 feet to 200 feet to accommodate the Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft.

The runway renovation is part of a broader "delay reduction" plan that will add taxiways and build more access points on other taxiways. It will be completed by 2011.

Paris Charles de Gaulle is the latest airport to install synthetic turf to cover the edges of its runways. Montreal-based FieldTurf Tarkett, which makes the synthetic turf, says it improves visibility for pilots by reducing dust and debris and creating a sharper contrast with runway edges. It also eliminates food sources and shelter for wildlife, which can interfere with takeoffs and landings.

Several U.S. airports, including Boston, San Francisco and New York LaGuardia, already use synthetic turf.