T H E   W H I T E   H O U S E

President Clinton Announces New Public-Private Initiative To ReduceWeather-Related Air Travel Delays

Help Site Map Text Only

National Economic Council

PRESIDENT CLINTON ANNOUNCES NEW PUBLIC-PRIVATE INITIATIVE TO REDUCE WEATHER-RELATED AIR TRAVEL DELAYS

March 10, 2000

President Clinton, joined by the heads of several airlines and unions, today will announce the Spring 2000 Initiative, a collaborative effort between the Federal Aviation Administration, airlines and others to reduce air travel delays due to severe weather while maintaining the highest measure of safety. Last year, thunderstorms contributed to record numbers of flight delays and cancellations, particularly from April through August. The FAA and the airlines began working together last Fall to develop a new approach to managing air traffic control operations during severe weather conditions. The new initiative, which begins March 12 and will be fully phased in by April 1, will allow the FAA and the airlines to collaborate far more closely to minimize disruptions. It also will feature a new Web site for air travelers to get general information about what effect weather will have on flight schedules. The President also will direct the FAA to develop a plan within 45 days for achieving broader reform of the air traffic control system, to reduce delays without sacrificing safety.

SPRING 2000 INITIATIVE WILL REDUCE TRAVELERS' TIME ON THE TARMAC.

Today the President will announce the Spring 2000 Initiative to enable airlines to operate more flights with fewer delays during severe weather, without compromising safety. The initiative has four important features: (1) improved communication between FAA and the airlines, (2) better use of available air space, (3) new technology and tools, and (4) a new website for travelers.

  • Improved FAA/Airline Communication: The FAA's high-tech command center in Herndon, Virginia, will have expanded authority to develop national plans, in collaboration with the airlines, for routing planes around problem areas. Using standardized weather forecasts, FAA and airline staff will hold teleconferences throughout the day to address conditions two to six hours into the future.
  • Better Use of Available Air Space: The Department of Defense is working with the FAA to allow use of military airspace off the East Coast to help speed traffic flows in poor weather. The FAA and the airlines have agreed to make better use of lower-level airspace to enable the air traffic control system to handle more traffic at peak travel times. They also have developed a playbook of ready-made alternate routes to take aircraft around storm activity.
  • New Technology: For the first time, the FAA and the airlines will all use the same weather information -- a state-of-the-art forecast tool provided by the National Weather Service -- to decide how to deal with storms. An FAA website will provide airline dispatchers across the country with real-time information on the national plan. A shared database of current flight information will allow the FAA and airlines to collaborate on plans and decisionmaking.
  • Website for Travelers: Starting on April 3, the FAA will make available to the general public a website (fly.faa.gov) designed to provide up-to-the-minute information on weather conditions and significant disruptions in the air traffic control system. Although passengers will need to contact their airline for information on specific flights, the Web site will keep passengers better informed, so that they can adapt their travel plans.

PRESIDENT WILL ALSO ASK FAA FOR PLAN ON BROADER REFORM OF THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM. Although the Spring 2000 Initiative represents an important step, much more needs to be done to make the FAA's air traffic control system as efficient as it is safe. Toward that end, the President today asked the FAA to come back to him in 45 days with a plan for achieving broader reform of the air traffic control (ATC) system. He identified four guiding principles:

Safety must not be compromised: The U.S. has the safest air traffic control system in the world, and we should continue to make safety our highest priority.

Accommodate rapidly growing passenger demand: By 2010, the number of domestic passengers will grow by an estimated 43 percent. To get 850 million passengers a year to their destinations on time, our ATC system must operate at the technological and managerial frontier.

The air traffic control system should operate more like a business: Many other countries run their ATC systems more like businesses, and we need to do the same. Above all, this means focusing the management of ATC on performance and the needs of customers -- e.g., by linking capital investment decisions to airline demand for services. In addition, commercial users should pay for ATC services based on the cost of those services.

Protect jobs and rural economic development: ATC reform must not come at the expense of people whose livelihood depends on it, including air traffic controllers and the general aviation community. And it should enhance, not diminish, economic development of rural areas.


President and First Lady | Vice President and Mrs. Gore
Record of Progress | The Briefing Room
Gateway to Government | Contacting the White House
White House for Kids | White House History
White House Tours | Help | Text Only

Privacy Statement

Selection of Recent, Major Economic Policy Documents

Taking Action To Ensure The Federal Government Does Its Part To HelpCalifornia Meet Its Electricity Needs

President Clinton Announces New Public-Private Initiative to Reduce Weather-Related Air Travel Delays

RAISING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

President Clinton: Taking Action To Ensure The Federal Government Does Its Part To Help California Meet Its Electricity Needs

Raising Student Achievement

Clinton-Gore Administration: Modernizing America's Schools

President Clinton Challenges Corporate America To Invest In America's New Markets

Details of the New Markets / Renewal Communities Agreement

President Clinton: Helping Disadvantaged Youth

Letter on Increasing High-Skilled Workers

President Clinton Announces New Public-Private Initiative To ReduceWeather-Related Air Travel Delays

The Minimum Wage: Increasing the Reward for Work

President Clinton's State of the Union Address

The Trade and Development Act of 2000

BUDGET FRAMEWORK

The Clinton-Gore Administration FY2001 Budget

President Clinton Signs Legislation Expanding Opportunities for America's Senior Citizens

President Clinton's Radio Address: Congress' Costly Tax Cuts Will Drain the Surplus

Key Facts on the Medicare Trustees Report

The Clinton-Gore Administration: Fiscally Responsible, Targeted Tax Cuts

College Opportunity Tax Cut: Providing Tax Incentives to Make Higher Education More Affordable

G7 STATEMENT ON WORLD ECONOMY

Initiatives to Expand Access to Basic Education and Improve Childhood Development in Poor Countries

President Clinton Calls On Congress to Emphasize Fiscal Discipline and Priorities for American Families

A New Opportunity Agenda for Higher Education

The Clinton/Gore Administration: Strengthening Manufacturing for the 21st Century

President Clinton and Vice President Gore: Major New

An Historic Opportunity to Promote Global Participation in the Network Economy and Society

President Clinton and Other G-8 Leaders to Create Digital Opportunity Taskforce

Key Facts on Census Income and Poverty Report

President Clinton's Plan to Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit

Majority of G-8 Mobilizes Billions To Combat Infectious Diseases in Developing Countries

The Clinton-Gore Economic Record: Strongest Growth in Over Three Decades

THE OKINAWA G-8 SUMMIT:

Congress' Tax Cut Will Drain the Surplus

President Clinton's Radio Address: Meeting America's Energy Needs in the 21st Century

KEY FACTS ON THE MEDICARE TRUSTEES REPORT

The Clinton/Gore Administration: Taking Action to Strengthen America's Energy Security

Raising the Minimum Wage

President Clinton Directs Department of Energy to Establish A Home Heating Oil Reserve in the Northeast

President Clinton Warns Governors that Congress Risks Nation's Fiscal Discipline

Disability, Medicare, and Prescription Drugs

President Clinton Cites Florida for Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Case Example

President Clinton: Supporting Passenger Rail for our Nation's Transportation Future

Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement

President Clinton: Working To Eliminate Abusive Child Labor Around the World

THE WHITE HOUSE

Making College More Affordable and Accessible for America's Families

PRESIDENT CLINTON: MODERNIZING AMERICA'S SCHOOLS FOR THE 21STCENTURY

Guidance on the Estate Tax