The U.S. Department of Transportation today said it plans to limit to 81 the number of hourly scheduled arrivals and departures at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport in an attempt to reduce congestion. The capacity limits go into effect on March 30 and will remain in place until Oct. 24, 2009, DOT said in a notice published in the Federal Register.
"The FAA previously determined that a limit on scheduled operations is necessary to address the increased level of flights over the past two years and, in particular, flights added during the peak afternoon and evening hours," DOT said in its Federal Register filing today, claiming that congestion at JFK triggers nationwide delays.
DOT characterized the effort as a short-term solution to congestion, as longer-term initiatives, such as air traffic control modernization and the redesign of the New York City airspace, eventually would allow capacity to be added back into the system.
Though DOT is targeting a cap of 81 operations per hour, the Federal Aviation Administration is empowered to allow flexibility. "The FAA does not expect to approve schedule changes that would add flights above the accepted level of 81 operations in a given hour. Because the FAA wished to maximize the reduction in delays while accommodating carriers' need for flexibility, the FAA anticipates that it would approve schedule changes that bring the overall number of flights in any given hour down to or below 81."
DOT said American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and JetBlue Airways-representing a total of 75 percent of JFK operations-already have withdrawn schedule increases for this summer and shifted operations from peak hours. DOT said no carrier reduced operations from summer 2007 levels.
JetBlue chairman David Neeleman today told
BTN that he was pleased with the final decision. "We're good, but I'll bet Delta's not that happy," he said.
After a summer wracked with delays, President George W. Bush directed Transportation Secretary Mary Peters to develop proposals to ameliorate air travel difficulties by the end of 2007. In a
BTN interview in December, Peters warned that no short-term solution under consideration was likely to eradicate significant delays in the summer of 2008. Shortly thereafter, Peters announced plans to cap hourly capacity at JFK and Newark Liberty International Airport
(BTNonline, Dec. 19, 2007).
Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration said it soon would issue a proposal to place limits on unscheduled flights into and out of JFK.