In an attempt to ease the congestion of travel during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons, President George Bush said last Tuesday that commercial planes will have permission to use military airspace temporarily over a majority of the country. Bush also reiterated his intention for flight slots to be auctioned at the 3 biggest airports in New York’s area before leaving office, which is a move that is being opposed in Congress and the courts.

During the Thanksgiving holiday last year, the military airspace in two East Coast corridors were open to commercial flights, which helped deter some delays. This year, the president is opening military airspace in the Southwest, Midwest, and on the West Coast as well. He also said that the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as the airlines, will be adding workers at airports in order to speed up boarding and check-in, as well as to help the passengers whose flights become delayed or canceled.

The American Air Transport Association issued a response to the President’s action, applauding their efforts for improving passengers’ travel experiences during the coming holiday season. They said that the positive action is a step in a forward direction. The Association and the carriers will keep working with the government and airports in order to complement these initiatives, they continued, as well as to provide enjoyable and safe holiday travel experiences.

They concluded, saying that despite the strong opposition from many aviation stakeholders and Congress, the outgoing administration is regrettably planning to move forward with auctioning landing and takeoff slots at the 3 major airports in the New York area during January, which will cause much inconvenience to passengers and irreparable damage to carriers.