(x-posted from Daddy Democrat)

Residents of Delaware County are coming to the realization that it’s going to be an uphill slog to resist the FAA’s plans to redirect flight paths from Philadelphia International Airport right over our heads.

Today, the FAA officially identified its preference for the so-called “Integrated Airspace Alternative.” That’s the one where planes taking off from PHL can turn turn directly over residential neighborhoods, instead of having to stay over the Delaware River until they’ve achieved sufficient altitude.

If you peruse the documents pertaining to the airspace plans on the FAA site, you quickly realize why we’re hosed. Although Andrew Reilly and other politicians have cast this as a highly local issue about the Philadelphia Airport, the FAA has tied the traffic issues of the Philadelphia Airport with those of Newark, JFK, and LaGuardia. When you calculate the untold billions of dollars of commercial interest invested in these gigantic airports, you realize that a half million residents of a suburban county are an afterthought.

The FAA will hold one open meeting in Pennsylvania to allow for public comment. (Aren’t we so lucky?) Of course, they’re holding it in a hotel down at the airport. I’d love to see them come out to one of the affected areas, like Media or Ridley Park, because they ought to see the area and the residents that they’re really impacting.And you know they’d get an earful.

County Council is threatening to sue, although from what I’ve heard from others who know more, it’s difficult to find legal grounds to stop the FAA. They apparently have pretty broad latitude to do whatever they want. Andy Reilly and Co. haven’t advanced a legal theory by which they might be able to withstand the FAA, but I suspect that his tough talk is as much about the posture as it as about results. He’s still plotting the next step in his political career, after all.

Our best hope now is to get some relief from Congress; some recognition from the Aviation committee that the FAA might need more oversight and restrictions to its ability to claim eminent domain to the air above your head.

This strikes me as an undeveloped market. Like in other matters of pollution, maybe a cap-and-trade system is needed. If Delaware County could sell direct flight-path routes to the airlines, we could at least be compensated for the real costs to us of the extra noise and pollution. Then perhaps, the airlines and air travellers who most wanted shorter delays and more direct routes could buy and trade their “tokens” to go over Delco instead of the Delaware River. The cost-conscious consumer could take the flight that takes a little longer, while the premium airline passenger could spend the extra money for a flight that takes less time and has a lower likelihood of delay. In the meantime, we’d retain our privileges to balance the compensation against the various inconveniences. If we can be paid fairly for our troubles, the market should reach equilibrium over time.

Unfortunately, this is a case where we seemingly have no standing in the marketplace. At least we know that it’ll be years before actual changes to flight paths will be permitted to take place. There is a little time for some mitigation to this initial plan. Here’s hoping that Joe Sestak can find some leverage over the FAA in the form of support from his colleagues in the House.

For more of the political reaction to the FAA’s decision, see today’s Delco Times and Inquirer takes on the news.