Senator Schumer is denouncing the Bush administration for not filling vacant air traffic controller positions and he is also labeling as flawed a proposal by the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation to auction off and cap the rights to operate flights out of New York-area airports.

At a hearing before a House aviation subcommittee yesterday, Mr. Schumer said auctioning off runway slots would limit consumer choices, making flying more expensive for New Yorkers, and would not serve to alleviate air traffic congestion around New York City.

Mr. Schumer warned that pitting airlines against one another in auctions would limit, or even end, service to many smaller communities. He has put a hold on the confirmation of the acting federal aviation administrator, Robert Sturgell, to demonstrate his opposition to any auction plans.

“Auctions have no proven track record of working. They have never been tried in any U.S. airport, nor have they been tried at any airport in the world,” Mr. Schumer said. “Airports in the New York City area, which are some of the world’s busiest, should not be the guinea pigs in DOT’s harebrained congestion experiment.”

Mr. Schumer called on the FAA to instead focus its efforts on upgrading old technology and hiring more air traffic controllers. He said the air traffic towers at La Guardia, John F. Kennedy, and Newark airports are at least 30% undermanned in terms of properly trained personnel.

“If the DOT and FAA don’t take steps to upgrade the technology, improve capacity at New York’s airports, and hire, train, and retain more full-time controllers, we are going to see a complete meltdown in the skies over New York,” he said.

In an attempt to curb chronic congestion in New York’s airspace, the Bush administration is proposing plans that would allocate a set number of runway takeoff slots a day at La Guardia, JFK, and Newark airports to be auctioned to airlines.

Last year, the three airports were responsible for about 75% of all flight delays nationwide.