what to know
- The Federal Aviation Administration is allowing airlines to continue reducing their flights in the New York City area beyond the summer and into this fall.
- It’s a sign of how much the FAA suffers from the shortage of air traffic controllers.
- The FAA said Wednesday that it will continue to waive sanctions through October 28.
NEW YORK — Faced with a shortage of air traffic controllers, the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday it will allow airlines to continue limiting flights in the New York City area through October without the penalties they would normally face for such reductions. .
Airlines that do not use enough of their takeoff and landing rights or “slots” at these airports risk losing them to their competitors.
However, the FAA said it will extend the current easing of those rules until October 28 because the staffing shortage is out of the airlines’ control. The waivers expired on September 15, after the peak summer travel season.
Airlines such as Delta, American, United and JetBlue agreed to cuts at LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy airports in New York and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
“The relief provided by the FAA during the peak of the summer season has provided stability at airports in the New York area,” the FAA said. The agency said canceled flights at the three big New York City area airports from May 15 to June 30 fell 40% from the same period last year.
The FAA said airlines cut flights to New York this summer by 6% but increased the number of seats by 2% by using larger planes on average.
The sanctions waiver also applies to some flights at Reagan Washington National Airport, near Washington, D.C.
United Airlines, which has cut flights at its large hub in Newark, and trade group Airlines for America had asked the FAA to extend sanction waivers.
In a report to Congress this spring, the FAA detailed its efforts to hire and train some 3,000 new air traffic controllers. The agency is only half staffed at a key facility that directs planes in and out of the New York City area.
