The Port Authority and the feds are headed for a dogfight over a Bush administration plan to auction slots at area airports.
The PA, which runs Kennedy, Newark and La Guardia airports, says that any flight using a departure or arrival slot bought via auction would be barred from taking off or landing at its facilities.
But the Department of Transportation’s top lawyer, D.J. Gribbin, said the move “boldly violates” the PA’s funding agreements with the Federal Aviation Administration – meaning a standoff could result in the loss of money to rebellious airports.
Port Authority aviation director Bill DeCota said that if the administration proceeds with its plan, “I can guarantee there’s going to be a great deal of legal action against them.”
To deal with crippling congestion at area airports that are typically the worst in the nation, the DOT proposed the auction plan.
How the PA ban would work was unclear.
DeCota said he doubted that airlines would even bid on slots if they were aware that they would not be recognized.
And any plane arriving via an auctioned slot would be barred from using gates or ground facilities at the airports, he said.
“We’re not going to allow it to come to a terminal,” said DeCota.
Gribbin insisted, “Those airports are public facilities and they have agreements with the federal government that they will be made available for public use.”
Combined with caps on the number of flights allowed, federal officials hope the auctions would limit inefficiencies and make service at local airports more reliable.
“It seems to me to make a lot of sense,” Mayor Bloomberg said.
“Quite honestly, you encourage big planes that carry more people.”
But the PA has vehemently opposed the idea and claimed it would drive ticket prices up by 12 percent and cut access between New York and smaller cities like Bangor, Maine, and Sarasota, Fla.
“The DOT appears hellbent on jamming this unworkable plan down the throats of the Port Authority and New York City air travelers, but we are going to fight them every step of the way,” Sen. Charles Schumer said. patrick.gallahue@nypost.com