FAA considers cutting O’Hare flights amid summer congestion concerns

CHICAGO - The Federal Aviation Administration is set to meet with United and American Airlines to discuss reducing flights at O’Hare International Airport this summer.

What we know:

The FAA says major airlines have overbooked flights at O’Hare, and cutting some of those down could reduce the number of delays and cancellations.

The agency is concerned about the flight schedule for the summer season at O’Hare, saying it could stress safety systems at the airport, including runways, terminals, and air traffic control.

Dig deeper:

A total of 3,080 flights are scheduled per day this summer. That’s 400 more flights per day compared to last summer, when airlines were operating 2,680 flights per day.

The FAA wants to limit daily operations this summer to "100 hourly departures and arrivals," or 2,800 flights per day.

Tension between airlines

Back and forth:

There has been a battle brewing at O’Hare between United and American airlines over gate space. Under the current lease at O’Hare, gates are allocated to airlines based on the number of flights an airline has scheduled in the previous year. To put it simply, the more flights an airline operates, the more gates they will get.

Both airlines have been trying to schedule as many flights possible, to win more passengers, and therefore win more gates. Both have also issued statements condemning the FAA.

However, Fox Chicago obtained an internal memo sent to members at American Airlines. It says in part, "Our growth at ORD has been deliberate and sustainable. This summer we’ll operate nearly as many flights as we did before the pandemic… we executed a multifaced strategy that made travel more seamless and reliable."

American Airlines also pointed their fingers at United, adding to that memo, "They proceeded to add approximately 130 additional daily flights this summer, bringing them to a 34% increase year over year… This is not meaningful growth – it was a ploy to overschedule the airport to manipulate a provision."

That provision is a reference to the current lease, regarding gate space.

What we don't know:

It’s still unclear how these flight reductions will affect people who have already booked their summer flights in or out of O’Hare.