With the clamor rising over airport delays and with both the Congress and the Administration considering remedies, this paper advocates the use of market mechanisms, specifically slot auctions, to promote efficient usage of airport capacity, reduce airport delays, and, more generally, promote...

Airport delays are increasingly significantly. These delays are largely attributable to increased congestion on runways and at gates as airlines increasingly use smaller but more frequently-departing passenger jets. This paper proposes reducing congestion by auctioning off takeoff and landing...