The Federal Aviation Administration and domestic airlines serving Chicago O'Hare International Airport today agreed to flight reductions aimed at easing peak-hour congestion. The U.S. Department of Transportation said O'Hare delays, which often trigger service disruptions around the national air system, would be 20 percent shorter by year-end.
Carriers agreed to limit arrivals to 88 between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m., effective Nov. 1. O'Hare's largest operators, American and United airlines, will reduce arrivals between 12 noon and 8 p.m. by 17 and 20, respectively, while other airlines agreed to other, unspecified reductions.
United said it would reduce its overall afternoon peak schedule 5 percent. "We believe that we've reached an acceptable short-term solution that will significantly improve congestion at O'Hare," said Pete McDonald, United COO. "Over the long run, more needs to be done to equitably address O'Hare's congestion issues while responding to customer demand for service, including the ongoing effort to expand capacity through the O'Hare Modernization Plan."
American and United this year in two phases each voluntarily reduced peak O'Hare flight schedules 7.5 percent. The new agreement resulted from a meeting last week held by government officials with impacted airlines
(BTN, Aug. 16). It expires April 30, 2005.
The deal also limits and requires FAA approval for any new flights carriers plan to add to their schedules after Nov. 1. "We were able to reach a cooperative, voluntary agreement with the carriers," said FAA Administrator Marion Blakey.
Capt. Duane Woerth, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, said the situation at O'Hare is one example of the federal government diverting attention away from "key initiatives" after Sept. 11, 2001."Now, once again, our airlines are prisoners of an outmoded and saturated system, unable to take advantage of growing customer demand," he said.