Low-cost airlines call for end to big carriers' airport monopolies
March 26, 1999
Web posted at: 10:21 p.m. EST (0321 GMT)
From Producer Karla Crosswhite
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A trade group representing start-up airlines called on the Department of Transportation Friday to "tear down" barriers that limit competition at the nation's airports.
At a Capitol Hill news conference, Ed Faberman, executive director of the Air Carrier Association of America, said new carriers are locked out of many airports because terminal gates and other facilities are monopolized by large airlines.
Faberman also said lower-cost carriers are denied access to some of the nation's most important airports by unavailability of landing and takeoff slots and other rules that discourage competition.
The group called on Congress and the DOT to "take immediate action to open all airports to new entrants."
Faberman also applauded bills in Congress to eliminate access barriers for new airlines and urged the DOT to press ahead and issue proposed anti-competitive guidelines for the commercial aviation industry.
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