A 10% reduction of the 3 airlines would represent a 7% decrease in the airports in the area
Delta Air LinesUnited Airlines and JetBlue Airways announced that they will reduce their flights to and from NY this summer, as it is one of the busiest in the United States and faces a shortage of air traffic controllers.
So far, none of the companies has withdrawn the flights of their programming, but all have said they will do so after a meeting on the situation led by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on March 29, according to Airline Weekly.
“We have to reduce flights and make sure we can operate with what we have,” said Robin Hayes, CEO of JetBlue.
The FAA stated in early March that it expects the air controllers only reach 54% of the required levels in the New York area; nationally, the workforce will be approximately 81%.
In addition, if the airlines do not reduce flights at JFK airport, LaGuardia and Newark, approximately 45% of all flights to or from the region could suffer delays.
The FAA is also facing a increased scrutiny of its management of air traffic control after a series of accidents at airports across the US.
The situation has led the regulatory body to take an unusual measure: allowing airlines to use up to 10% of their slots at JFK and LaGuardia airports, and runway schedules Newark, from May 15 to September 15 to relieve congestion. A slot or track schedule is needed for each take off and landingand airlines are typically required to use each 80% of the time.
Airlines must request the exemptions to the FAA by April 30.
Delta, United y JetBlue are the three largest airlines by departures at the three New York area airports combined, according to horarios de Dios by Cirium. Together, they operate 69% of all departures from JFK, LaGuardia and Newark from May to September.
A reduction of 10% in the departures of the three airlines would represent an overall decrease of 7% in the airports.
The decrease in the total number of flights is likely to be greater than that of places available. Airlines get to choose which flights they cancel, and abolishing a flight operated by a 50-seat regional jet will have less of an impact on overall capacity in the New York area than cancellation of a flight operated by a 190-seater Airbus A321.
