# NY /NJ Airline Airport Affairs Committees

July 19,2013
Mr. PatrickFoye Executive Director ThePortAuthority ofNew York andNew Jersey 225 ParkAvenue South

- 15th Floor New York,New York 10003
DearMr. Foye:
We are writing on behalf of the New York and New Jersey Airline Airport Affuirs Committees, representing more than 90 airlines serving JFK, LOAand EWR, to express the airlines' collective concerns about the substantial increase in costs associated with policing, security, and Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) services at the New York airports. The airlines highly value their longstanding cooperative partnership with the Port Authority; inparticularwiththe Aviation Department staffand wewill continue to seek out opportunities for collaboration on many airport related initiatives that serve ourcollective interests.
At the present moment, however, the airlines are greatly opposed to the significant increase in policing, security, and ARFF costs and are very concerned over the nonconsultative approach taken bythe P ANYNJ inreaching a settlementwith the FAA over pastandcurrent airport certification infractions. Theairlines, who alone are being asked to bearthesemassive cost increases, fmd this situationuntenable andunacceptable.


### New ARFFFireFighterCadre
Wewere fully briefedbyyour AviationDepartment staffonboththe cause ofthe Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposed civil penalties and the mitigation requirements that were mandated by the Settlement Agreement and Order dated April 8, 2013 (Settlement). Based on the briefing bythe Staff, weunderstandthatthe Port Authority's



### pla~ to meet the requirements ofthe Settlement will increase security costs at the airport byapproximately $63 million annually. Also itisourunderstanding thatthe Port's intent is to pass though these costs to be paid by the airlines through the flight fees of the NY /NJ airports. Using cost data provided by the Port Authority for the new ARFF Cadre Fire Fighters, the 2013 Flight Fee impacts (i.e. the airlines' cost) for the Port Authority's airports will increase from $22,172,900 to $85,084,376 in 2014- a 284% increase in one year. We also understand from speaking with Aviation Department staffthatthere will be no relief in costs from the Public Safety Department to offset this increase, because there will be
no reductions in the police staffthat were formerly assignedto ARFF duties as necessary. Furthermore, we undetstand that the Port Authority will continue to train police officers
on· patrol who are not assigned to ARFF for ARFF duties atthe airline's expense via theJuly 19, 2013 Page2

flight fees, even though these police officers will no longer be fulftlling that role, since there will be a requirement for dedicated staff to make a long term commitment to performARFF duties.
We fully support the Port Authority's compliance with all ofthe mitigation requirements outlined by the FAA in the Settlement. However, we cannot support the Port Authority's plan to implement the settlement's requirements by unilaterally and unfairly imposing significant cost increases on the airlines. This is particularly true since the airlines did not cause the problem and had-no input on the Settlement or the Port Authority's plans for complying. Going forward, and assuming we will reach a fair resolution on the incremental ARFF Settlement costs, we are somewhat encouraged by the fact that the new ARFF staffwill report to the Aviation Department, which should provide the airlines with transparency into the details ofthe costs. We have worked withthe Aviation Department staffto tryto understand the nature ofthe significant cost increases associated with policing, security, andARFF that we have faced overthe past several years, butthey did nothavethe means or authorization to provide the detailed information that we request. We have been, and continue to be, very interested in working with the Port Authority to understand the drivers ofthese costincreases and to assist in fmding and implementing ways to control them. PassengerTerminal SecuritvProgram
We are also concerned that police and security costs continue to increase disproportionately each year. As an example, since 2008, the cost per tour of the Passenger Terminal Security Program has increased 27% at JFK and 53% at LGA. Additionally, actual overtime hours for the Terminal Security Program at JFK for 2012 exceeded budgeted overtime hours by over 91%, and it is anticipated that in 2013 overtime hours will exceed budgeted overtime hours by over 74%. By any measure of calculation, these costincreases to the airlines areunreasonable. The ever increasing costs at the Port Authority airports are ofparamount concern to the airlines. This is in addition to the huge capital expenditures anticipated at all Port Authority airports inthe near future. Itisnot reasonable, nor is itin the true spitit ofour long term cooperative partnership, to simply expect that the airlines will bear this most recent cost increase due to the ARFF Settlement, or that the airlines will generally continue to bear increasing costs. This is particularly important given that the Port Authority's airports have among the highest flight fees being paidby the airlines in the nation.

### July 19, 2013 Page 3.



### The Airline Airport Affairs Committees would like to discuss these concerns with you and Mr. Joseph Dunne, ChiefSecurity Officer at your earliest convenience. The airlines want to work in a collaborative effort with the Port Authority to address the problems discussed above. Thank you for your consideration and assistance withthis important matter. Signed on behalfofthe New York/New Jersey Airline Airport Affairs Committees:

# ~ Katelyn Yi- United Airlines EWRAAAC Chairperson

# J:j~ Duane Slguenza- Delta Air Lines LGA AAAC Chairperson

# qlwwAa-~4:1. Kendra Kennedy- Amencan

## ~rlines JFK AAAC Chairperson

cc: Bill Baroni, Deputy Executive Director Tom Bosco, Interim Aviation Director David Kagan, Acting Deputy Aviation Director