A way for the future Officials mark opening of fifth airport runway

ATLANTA - The head of the Federal Aviation Administration called Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport's new fifth runway "an important down payment on America's future."

The $1.284 billion runway will help the U.S. economy, Administrator Marion Blakey said during a dedication ceremony Tuesday. The FAA plans for other airports around the U.S. to improve just as Atlanta's airport has, Blakey said.

Airport fire trucks christened the 9,000-foot strip with fountains of water, and a few hundred dignitaries boarded two jets from the airport's main carriers - Delta Air Lines Inc. and AirTran Airways - for ceremonial flights from the runway Tuesday. It will open for commercial flights May 27.

Hartsfield-Jackson is the world's busiest airport in terms of passengers and operations. Airport officials say it's also the airport with the most delays.

Blakey said that Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta
would announce a plan Tuesday to combat air congestion and travel delays.

According to the Dallas Morning News, Mineta offered a modest election-year proposal for dealing with the nation's transportation congestion problems.

The six-point Bush administration proposal asks Congress for $100 million to fund pilot programs designed to entice private investment in public transportation.

Blakey said the new runway is a good example of the improvement plan because it will increase Hartsfield-Jackson's capacity by 300,000 passengers a year - a third more than the 970,000 who now fly through the airport each year.

She said it will cut delays by 5 minutes. Currently, about a quarter of the airport's flights have delays that average 17 minutes, airport officials said.

Airport officials previously said the new runway will save airlines about $5 million total each week in delay-related costs.

Delta CEO Gerald Grinstein said in a statement that the new runway will make a positive impact on "on-time performance and reduce congestion beyond our flagship hub."

He added that the runway also will help the airline expand flights domestically. The airline dominates flights out of Hartsfield-Jackson, with 75 percent of all of the airport's flights involving Delta planes or those of its subsidiaries, Comair and ASA.

"Delays at Hartsfield-Jackson back up travel all over the United States," said Mayor Shirley Franklin.

"We think the fifth runway will make a contribution to the growing economy of the United States."