Flight paths expand for holidays

President Bush visited the Department of Transportation yesterday after his speech on aviation congestion. He was accompanied by Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters. (Aude Guerrucci/Pool/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON - President Bush will take new steps to reduce holiday air traffic congestion, opening military airspace over areas in the Midwest, Southwest, and West Coast after success with the East Coast last year.

Citizens are nervous about travel, Bush said, citing long delays, lost bags, and overbooking. The government's job is to make flying as comfortable as possible, he said.

Last year, the government opened East Coast military air corridors and it worked, he said.

"We innovated last year to ease the travel, and now we're expanding that innovation this year," Bush said.

The Defense Department will free up airspace from the evening of Nov. 25 through the morning of Dec. 1, said White House spokesman Scott Stanzel. Information on the Christmas dates wasn't available.

Delayed flights cost the US economy as much as $41 billion last year, according to a congressional study. Airlines absorbed $19 billion of those costs. The toll on passengers was $12 billion in lost time, the study said.

The International Air Transport Association, which represents 230 US and international airlines, urged the government to focus on permanent solutions to easing air congestion, including adding airport runways. This week the Federal Aviation Administration is opening runways at Seattle-Tacoma, Dulles Airport outside Washington, D.C., and O'Hare International in Chicago.

The Transportation Security Administration is also working with airlines to make more staff available to speed check-in and boarding and to help passengers affected by delays.

New regulations to be in place before Christmas will afford consumers additional protections, including greater compensation for lost bags and tougher penalties when airlines fail to notify passengers about hidden fees.