The comment period closed last month on an FAA notice of proposed policy making on airport weight-bearing restrictions (www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html “search line” number 15495). The proposal drew most of its response from those opposed to the FAA setting such standards. The proposed policy represents the FAA’s attempt to develop its own standardized weight-bearing specifications for airport runways, taxiways and ramps as opposed to accepting airports’ numbers at face value. The agency has no set timeline on when it expects to render a decision on the proposed new policy.
The proposal comes in response to the ongoing debate between Boeing and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey over restrictions against aircraft greater than 100,000 pounds at Teterboro Airport (TEB), N.J., operated by the Port Authority. Despite a call for support within the aviation industry from Boeing, the wide majority of public comments came from Northern New Jersey residents who opposed the FAA proposal, fearing that the airport ban on larger aircraft could be overturned.
More In Regulations and Government
