NEW YORK, NY March 24, 2007 —A plan for new flight patterns around the New York area is drawing criticism from elected officials.

FAA officials say the it will ease delays and bring efficiency to a patchwork airspace map that has been unchanged since the 1960s. But the change will also bring noisy jets over more places along the Northeast Corridor.

The FAA is holding one public meeting in each of the five affected states. But US Senator Frank Lautenberg says New Jerseyans need more opportunities to raise their concerns:

LAUTENBERG: They've proposed holding one meeting. It's just outrageous in terms of the heavy-handedness with which they've done this. We're going to fight like the devil. We've got some tools to use, I promise you that.

The FAA says it's working on a variety of plans to ease noise, such as routing planes over less densely populated areas and having jets descend in a way that uses less engine power. The $50 million, six-year airspace redesign will have its biggest effect on JFK, Newark, Philadelphia and LaGuardia. Those four airports, along with Chicago's O'Hare Airport, had the highest percentage of delayed flights in 2006.