NEW YORK, NY October 09, 2008 —In final rules issued today, the U.S. Department of Transportation says it will auction off the first 58 or 59 slots, or 1 1/2% of the total on January 12th, 2009.

Over the next five years, the department will sell off about 10% of the total slots at the three major airports. The rest of them will stay with the airlines that currently have them, at no charge.

Spokesman Brian Turmail says the auctions may not reduce delays. But he doesn't expect them to get any worse.

TURMAIL: Changing the direction on the trend lines, that have been heading in the same increasingly deteriorating direction for decades now under the status quo in an of itself will be a success, if we can change those trend lines into the positive.

REPORTER: The auctions are supposed to bring in new carriers and encourage airlines to use larger planes. At the same time, the federal government will cap the number of flights that can fly in and out of each airport every hour.

The Port Authority, which operates the airports, says auctions will not improve congestion and prefers greater investment in air traffic control technology. It says it will seek and injunction to block the auctions.

Federal officials acknowledge that lawsuits might delay the first auction, and that the next administration might kill the the program before it gets started.