GAO: FAA Has No Authority to Auction EWR Slots
The General Accounting Office ruled yesterday that the Federal Aviation Administration lacks the authority to auction arrival and departure slots at Newark

The General Accounting Office ruled yesterday that the Federal Aviation Administration lacks the authority to auction arrival and departure slots at Newark Liberty International Airport, at least temporarily laying to rest the controversy that led the Regional Airline Association and the Air Transport Association to vigorously protest a plan to distribute the slots once awarded to Eos Airlines to the highest bidder.

According to Regional Airline Association president Roger Cohen, the plan—although at first involving just a single round trip originally scheduled for auction on September 3—would have set a perilous precedent U.S. regional airlines could not afford to let stand.