Slots at LaGuardia Airport once held by the now-defunct Spirit Airlines should be taken over by another low-cost carrier, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said Wednesday.
“As long as the slots are going to a low-fare airline and for the public good, the FAA and DOT would support that,” Bedford told reporters in Charleston, South Carolina, where he was attending the CAPA Airline Leader Summit.
His comments were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
If the slots cannot be transferred to a low-cost airline, they could be retired to reduce congestion, Bedford added.
LaGuardia is one of three U.S. airports that use a slot system due to high demand. Other large airports carefully control takeoffs and landings for capacity reasons but do not use slots.
Spirit formerly connected LaGuardia to destinations such as Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago O’Hare, Detroit, Houston, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The carrier folded on May 2, and all flights were immediately canceled.
A small core of Spirit employees is overseeing the liquidation of the airline’s assets, including aircraft and equipment. The airline’s slots at LaGuardia could be worth $87 million, according to a recent filing.
