Ground Clutter
Local vs. National
By Ralph Hood
October 2004
In his regular column — "Inside the Fence" — inSeptember, editor John Infanger addresses two of the biggest messesin our world, O’Hare and the Mideast crisis. Nothing timid aboutInfanger. Danged if I don’t believe it would be easier to straightenout the Mideast than the mess that is O’Hare.
What we have at O’Hare is local politics messing up a nationwide system. What the area needs is a new airport. What local politics (can you spell Daley?) offer is an expansion of O’Hare. Moses could wander for another 40 years — possibly in a holding pattern at O’Hare — before finding peace in this political imbroglio. Maybe we would all be better off if Da Mayor bulldozed the damned place in the dark of night.
Da Mayor says O’Hare can be expanded/improved to be much more efficient. No doubt that is true. But it will still be a nightmare to get to, the parking lots will no doubt be even farther from the gates, and I, for one, will still avoid the place like the plague.
The city needs another airport, but that ain’t possible without diluting (rather than strengthening) the power of Da Mayor. One airport — in Gary, IN — already exists and even has plans to bootstrap growth with dollars derived from the growth itself. (What a novel idea.)
Click Image for larger view
Right now, the FAA has asked the airlines to limit or adjust their arrivals/departures at O’Hare to cut congestion. That’s like asking Sax Fifth Avenue to cut its sales to solve the congestion in New Yawk City.
Atlanta and Philadelphia have the same problems, and may likewise be asked to limit service. Can we spot a trend here? Philadelphia, they tell me, is the largest city in America with only one airport served by airlines. Atlanta is the second largest. I don’t know from diddly about Philadelphia, but Atlanta plans expansion of Hartsfield-Jackson Airport rather than building a second airport.
(It used to be just Hartsfield Airport, named after a former mayor. They added Jackson, the name of another former mayor, but the expanded name did nothing to improve the congestion.)
Once again, local politics seem to be the main reason. A second Atlanta airport has been suggested in several different spots, but the not-in-my-backyard philosophy is alive and well in Georgia. My brother lives in Gwinnett County, one of the suggested locations, and he points out that more people live in Gwinnett County than in Atlanta — and that, “We will never let Atlanta put their airport or their rapid transit system in our county.”
The market does help. Many of my traveling friends already avoid O’Hare, Philly, and Atlanta when possible, just as I do. “But Ralph,” people tell me, “that’s not fair. Those cities do a good job considering the traffic they handle.” Hey, I don’t care less why those airports are miserable places to change airplanes; I just know that they are, and that I avoid misery whenever possible.
Ralph Hood is a Certified Speaking Professional who has addressed aviation groups throughout North America. A pilot since 1969, he’s insured and sold airplanes at retail and distributor levels and taught aviation management for Southern Illinois University. Reach him at [email protected]
