2. Some of our busiest airports do not have sufficient runways, landing slots at preferred times, gates, tarmac, etc., to meet demand. Flights end up circling and arriving late, producing cascading delays for passengers across the country. Many airports are constrained by surrounding communities not to expand their acreage. It takes time to build a new airport further from the city, and is expensive to add the transportation infrastructure to serve it. How should scarce resources at existing busy airports be allocated?
a. The airlines who currently own a gate ought to be able to sell it off to the highest bidder, or rent it for whatever they can charge their competitor.
b. Landing rights ought to be sold once and for all to the highest bidder. When they no longer want them, or can no longer use them profitably, those rights should be theirs to auction off at whatever price they can get, even if it is double or triple -- or more -- what they initially paid.
c. Leases for landing rights at peak hours should be auctioned off, with a term of a few years, and the revenue should first support airport costs and air-traffic control expenses. Should there be an excess, it should not be returned to the leaseholders: it belongs to the community at large and should go into general revenue.
d. Your suggestion?
see a related post, below.
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