Sen. Schumer says city's airports are latest in nation

NEW YORK (AP) The three airports serving New York City rank last among the nation's 33 busiest airports for on-time arrivals, according to Sen. Charles Schumer.

"They should be world-class airports but they're not functioning as world-class airports," Schumer said Sunday, adding that the delays could hurt the city's economy by discouraging tourism and business travel. It's the first time that all three have sunk to the bottom of the list, Schumer said, referring to Bureau of Transportation statistics on the first nine months of this year.

Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey had the worst record, with 34 percent of flights arriving late during that period. Some 33 percent of planes landing at LaGuardia Airport were delayed, as were 30 percent of flights to John F. Kennedy Airport.

A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration told Newsday that some delays, such as those related to weather, were unavoidable. Recent changes made by the agency would help matters, Greg Martin predicted.

"We increased the number of oceanic routes, which we believe will reduce delays significantly during the peak winter travel periods between New York and Florida," Martin said. "In fact, it's likely that we will keep those additional lanes open throughout the year." Airports in Salt Lake City, Chicago and Denver were the three most punctual, with more than 82 percent of flights arriving on time, according to the transportation statistics.

Source: Associated Press