Developments in transport policy: new US airport slot policy in flux

Recently, the Federal Aviation Administration proposed to auction slots at the three New York airports, which are among the most congested and delay prone in the United States. The new policy would have cleared up a very muddled airport congestion policy. This paper reviews the history of slots policy in the USA, economic arguments for slots and slot auctions, the practical methods for conducting auctions, complementary policies proposed but rejected by Congress for applying cost-based user fees to air traffic control services in the USA, and the interests of the opposing parties.