Airport Check-in: Newark traffic control tech may reduce delays

— -- NEW AT AIRPORTS

•Newark Liberty, one of the USA's most congested airports, says it will be the first major domestic airport to test a new navigation technology aimed at reducing flight delays. Ground Based Augmentation System uses global-positioning satellites to spot planes rather than the radar-based system currently in use. The airport says the system will enable planes to fly closer together without reducing safety.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has agreements with the Federal Aviation Administration and Continental Airlines to conduct demonstration tests, and the systems should be operational by the end of 2009, says spokesman Ron Marsico.

The Port Authority will pay Honeywell about $2.5 million to install and maintain the system. Continental, which is Newark's largest carrier, will spend about $1.1 million to equip 15 planes and to train pilots. The FAA has committed about $2.5 million to assess and expand the technology.

•Officials at Seattle-Tacoma have temporarily suspended construction on a $400 million consolidated rental car facility, citing the downturn in the credit market that has made selling bonds difficult. The decision suspends the project for up to one year until long-term financing can be found.

The decision comes less than two months after the Port of Seattle Commission voted to use $20 million in general airport funds to keep the project on schedule for a few more months, hoping for economic conditions to improve.

The airport has been collecting a $4-per-day fee from rental car customers since February 2006 — raised to $5 in July — to fund the project and has so far raised $60 million. The airport says it'll continue to charge the rental car fee.

•Phoenix Sky Harbor will connect the airport to the nearest metro rail station with new shuttle service starting Dec. 29. The free bus service will run every 10 minutes from the station at 44th & Washington streets.

With cars crowding its parking lots and roads, the airport is urging more people to use the light rail. The airport will get its own light rail line in 2013, connecting the Metro station initially with Terminal 4 and to other terminals in later years.