US mainline carriers American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines, plus budget carrier JetBlue Airways, are slashing flights at three major airports in the US Northeast during this year's peak summer after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily relaxed minimum flight requirements citing air traffic control staffing shortages.

This follows a March 22 FAA announcement that it was waiving minimum slot usage requirements at New York JFK, New York La Guardia and Washington National between May 15 and September 15. The reason is a post-pandemic staffing shortfall of air traffic controllers at the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) N90 facility. The FAA said carriers would be allowed to voluntarily return up to 10% of their slots at the three airports during the period. Airlines must identify the slots and approved operating timings they wish to turn in before April 30. Usually, the FAA requires slots at JFK and La Guardia to be used at least 80% of the time, and slots not meeting the usage minimum are withdrawn. At Washington National, at least 80% of slots not used over two months are typically recalled.

Reuters reports that American Airlines plans to reduce its frequencies between La Guardia and Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami International, Kansas City International and St. Louis Lambert International, plus cut flights on the route between Newark and Chicago O'Hare. An American Airlines spokesperson told ch-aviation: "American will temporarily reduce frequencies on select routes from LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport this summer. We’re proactively reaching out to affected customers to offer alternative travel arrangements.”

United, Delta and JetBlue were also reportedly reviewing their frequencies. "This summer is going to be really hard again," JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes told the Economic Club of New York on March 29. "We need to reduce flying and make sure we can operate what we've got." In a statement shared with ch-aviation, the airline said it was reviewing options for reducing its flight schedule at JFK and LaGuardia airports to help ease constraints on the system. "We’ll share specific details on our schedule reduction once we have finalised our plan."

A Delta spokesperson told ch-aviation that: "Our team is looking closely at the schedule and will advise the FAA of any adjustments by April 30". "Delta is reviewing its network to ensure the best customer experience throughout the summer travel season, and we are committed to working with the FAA on measures to ensure the safety and efficiency of operations at the NY/NJ Airports,” the airline said in a statement.

The FAA explained that the airspace complexity resulting from the close proximity of the three major commercial airports significantly contributed to delays there, while ATC staffing at N90 averaged 54%, 27% below the national standard of 81%. As a result, the FAA expected a 45% increased delay in line with 7% increased traffic at the three airports compared to summer 2022, when 41,498 delays were recorded with effects throughout the US national airspace system (NAS). The FAA said these projections were consistent with the 50% increase in ground delays observed in January and February 2023 compared to the same months in 2022 at the same airports.

To address the ATC staffing crisis at N90, the FAA has been moving responsibility for the Newark radar sector from N90 to the Philadelphia International TRACON. Training for this sector move was slated to begin in September 2023, and it will take time to complete the transfer of responsibilities.

The FAA gave its assurances that it would not reallocate the returned slots or approved operating timings at the three airports as the goal is to reduce the volume of operations in the New York region. Still, it encouraged airlines to use their Washington National slots in other markets before returning them to the FAA. "In the event Washington National slots are returned under this waiver, other carriers will have an opportunity to operate the slots on an ad hoc basis without historical precedence to serve markets other than New York," the regulator said.

JetBlue commended the FAA for working proactively to get ahead of the problem and being transparent about the staffing shortages. "With these challenges out in the open, the industry and government can collaborate on necessary steps to reduce disruption to summer travel and solve the staffing shortages. We are advocating for Congress to provide the FAA with the funding and resources it needs to fully staff air traffic control now and for the long term, and to provide adequate funding for the FAA to invest in new modern technology that will make air traffic control more efficient. There’s no region that will benefit more from that than New York," the airline said.