DOT looks at bad weather plans for air travel
WASHINGTON -- Federal officials are studying ways to better spread information about diverting planes in bad weather to avoid stranding aircraft as happened in Hartford, Conn., a month ago.
At a forum Wednesday for 250 government and industry officials, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the goal was to avoid a repeat of the chaos on Oct. 29 that left hundreds of passengers stranded on the tarmac for more than seven hours.
"We always have to do better," LaHood said.
Randy Babbitt, head of the Federal Aviation Administration, said the agency would begin within a week including airports in command-center conference calls that distribute information about gate availability, snow removal and de-icing equipment. He also plans to establish a hotline quickly for airports to learn about weather diversions.
Michael Huerta, FAA deputy administrator, listed five proposals for regulators and industry leaders to consider:
• Creating a central website, perhaps part of the FAA site, with airport information about diversions, such as capabilities for refueling, de-icing and Customs service.
• Holding strategic-planning teleconferences so that even smaller airports could hear where planes are headed.
• Identifying diverted flights better because air-traffic controllers and airports don't know which ones are unexpected.
• Coordinating equipment maintenance at airports.
• Writing airport contingency plans that incorporate plans from airlines, which face fines from lengthy tarmac delays.
"It's not rocket science, but it's important to have the information and have it available to all," Huerta said. "We have the information. The goal is to make it available and transparent to everyone."
But some industry officials warned that coordinating equipment maintenance will be difficult. They also cautioned that smaller airports might not have the staff to update the website effectively, particularly if they're already battling a major storm.
Joe Bertapelle, director of system operations for JetBlue, which had one of the long-stranded planes in Hartford, said airlines need to know from airports what gates and what equipment for refueling and de-icing are available. He said longer-term planning could also line up buses and hotels for passengers.
"We want it to be useful," Bertapelle said.
The forum was prompted by an Oct. 29 snowstorm that forced the diversion of 134 flights from New York City-area airports. Of those, 28 went to Bradley International Airport in Hartford, where a couple of planes languished on the tarmac for more than seven hours.
James Redeker, Connecticut's transportation commissioner, suggested to LaHood that Bradley could be a case study in handling weather diversions. He said any boost in sharing information would help.
"There's really only one thing you heard, when you cut through it all, and that's communication," Redeker said.
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