N.Y.-N.J. Port Authority seeks to block flights from auctioned slots

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said it was proposing to block any flights at its New York metropolitan area airports resulting from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration's plan to auction flight slots at these airports.

The federal government's auction plan would have a severe negative impact on air travel and customers at John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International and LaGuardia airports, and would be illegal without congressional authorization, the port authority said.

The auction scheme would increase ticket prices while doing nothing to relieve or mitigate delays and congestion at the New York metropolitan area's airports, it said, adding the auctions would serve only as an additional tax on air passengers in the New York metropolitan area market, increasing airline tickets prices by an estimated 12 percent.