Battle lines drawn in weight-bearing conflict

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is making a highly public issue of battling the FAA’s proposed policy on defining airport weight-bearing capability in its efforts to keep the FAA from forcing Teterboro to accept “large planes." Local politicians, including New Jersey Governor James McGreevy, have joined the Port Authority in condemning the FAA. With the support of NBAA and other aviation groups, the FAA maintains that it wants to standardize airport weight-bearing specifications. The fear is that local airport authorities nationwide, perhaps under pressure from local politics, would use the weight issue as an easy means to restrict aircraft access and obscure the real issue, such as noise.