CHICAGO DEPARTMENT OF AVIATION, FAA HOLD FIRST MEETING OF NEW O'HARE DELAY TASK FORCE
June 5, 2001-The City of Chicago and the FAA today convened the first meeting of the O'Hare Delay Task Force to identify both near-term and long-term solutions to the existing delay situation at O'Hare International Airport. Task Force co-chairs
Kitty Freidheim, Managing Deputy Commissioner of Aviation, and Philip Smithmeyer, Manager of the FAA's Chicago Airports District Office, presided over the meeting which included representatives from the Chicago Department of Aviation, Illinois and Indiana Departments of Transportation, O'Hare's hub and spoke carriers and general aviation, Midway's two major airlines and various agencies of the FAA.
"This new Task Force will take a fresh look at the factors affecting delay at O'Hare and map out a specific plan to address them," said Aviation Commissioner Thomas R. Walker. "Past Task Forces have demonstrated that when you bring the technical expertise of various agencies together in a focused effort, real progress can be made."
The Task Force is technical in nature, focusing on identifying physical, technical and operational initiatives to reduce delay. Today's meeting began with establishment of an organizational structure, followed by a review of the work of previous delay task forces and an overview of the different causes of delay. Four working groups will discuss the following topics as the work of the task force goes forward: airspace/technology improvements, which will focus on application of next generation technologies; physical improvements; air traffic control procedures; and collaborative decision-making, which will examine such things as real-time operational communications between airlines and the FAA under adverse weather conditions.
"While we will examine all of the past recommendations, including new runways, this is a delay task force not a runway task force," said co-chair Kitty Freidheim. "In 1991, the Chicago Delay Task Force studied 61 initiatives and made 28 recommendations, 11 of which addressed various improvements at O'Hare. The new Task Force will also look at a wide range of delay reduction options."
Recommendations from the 1991 Delay Task Force resulted in improvements that reduced delay by more than 40% through 1998. The new effort may also examine various demand management techniques, like pending congressional proposals to expand the use of airline scheduling conferences.
Phillip Smithmeyer, co-chair of the Task Force, said, "The FAA is extremely committed to supporting the Chicago Department of Aviation and other participants
to find solutions to the delay situation at O'Hare. Several FAA managers are participating in the Task Force to bring a wide-range of resources and knowledge to the table."
The Task Force is expected to publicly release a report with its recommendations in the next six to nine months. A public participation process will then take place to address the potential impacts of any significant recommendations that would be implemented.
