Notice2021-18768
Agency Information Collection Activities: Requests for Comments; Clearance of Renewed Approval of Information Collection: High Density Traffic Airports; Slot Allocation and Transfer Methods.
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Published
August 30, 2021
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Aviation Administration
Abstract
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew an information collection. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on March 16, 2021. The FAA collects information from U.S. and foreign air carriers holding or requesting a slot at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), and LaGuardia Airport (LGA); operating or requesting scheduled flights at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), O'Hare International Airport (ORD), and San Francisco International Airport (SFO); and conducting unscheduled operations at DCA and LGA. The information collected is necessary to support the advance management of air traffic demand by the FAA Slot Administration in an effort to reduce potential delays. The FAA proposes renaming this information collection to ``FAA Runway Slot Administration and Schedule Analysis'' to more accurately reflect the collection of information related to multiple airports subject to different FAA regulatory and voluntary processes under this program.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 165 (Monday, August 30, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 165 (Monday, August 30, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48466-48468]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18768]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
[Docket No. FAA-2021-0067]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Requests for Comments;
Clearance of Renewed Approval of Information Collection: High Density
Traffic Airports; Slot Allocation and Transfer Methods.
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA
invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew an information
collection. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period
soliciting comments on the following collection of information was
published on March 16, 2021. The FAA collects information from U.S. and
foreign air carriers holding or requesting a slot at Ronald Reagan
Washington National Airport (DCA), John F. Kennedy International
Airport (JFK), and LaGuardia Airport (LGA); operating or requesting
scheduled flights at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Los
Angeles International Airport (LAX), O'Hare International Airport
(ORD), and San Francisco International Airport (SFO); and conducting
unscheduled operations at DCA and LGA. The information collected is
necessary to support the advance management of air traffic demand by
the FAA Slot Administration in an effort to reduce potential delays.
The FAA proposes renaming this information collection to ``FAA Runway
Slot Administration and Schedule Analysis'' to more accurately reflect
the collection of information related to multiple airports subject to
different FAA regulatory and voluntary processes under this program.
DATES: Written comments should be submitted by September 29, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Find this particular
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Gonabe, FAA Slot
Administration, by email at: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e885899c9c808d9fc68f8786898a8da88e8989c68f879e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a5c8c4d1d1cdc0d28bc2cacbc4c7c0e5c3c4c48bc2cad3">[email protected]</span></a>; phone: (609) 485-
9554.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of
this information collection, including (a) Whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary for FAA's performance; (b) the
accuracy of the estimated burden; (c) ways for FAA to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the information collection; and (d)
ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of
the collected information.
OMB Control Number: 2120-0524.
Title: High Density Traffic Airports; Slot Allocation and Transfer
Methods.
Form Numbers: There are no FAA forms associated with this
collection.
Type of Review: Renewal of an information collection.
Background: The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment
period soliciting comments on the following collection of information
was published on March 16, 2021 (86 FR 14515). The FAA has implemented
several initiatives to address air traffic congestion and delay at
certain airports within the National Airspace System (NAS). DCA slot
rules are established under 14 CFR part 93, subparts K and S. The FAA
has issued Orders limiting operations at JFK and LGA.\1\ These Orders
resulted from increasing congestion and delays at the airports
requiring the FAA to allocate arrival and departure slots at JFK and
LGA. In addition, the FAA has designated EWR, LAX, ORD, and SFO as
Level 2 schedule-facilitated airports under the IATA Worldwide Slot
Guidelines (WSG) now known as the Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines
(WASG).\2\ At Level 2 airports, the FAA seeks the cooperation of all
carriers planning operations, on a voluntary basis, to maintain close
communications on runway schedules and facilitate adjustments, as
needed.
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\1\ Operating Limitations at John F. Kennedy International
Airport, 73 FR 3510 (Jan. 18, 2008), as most recently amended 85 FR
58258 (Sep. 18, 2020); Operating Limitations at New York LaGuardia
Airport, 71 FR 77854 (Dec. 27, 2006), as most recently amended 85 FR
58255 (Sep. 18, 2020).
\2\ Notice of Submission Deadline for Schedule Information for
O'Hare International, John F. Kennedy International, and Newark
Liberty International Airports for the Summer 2009 Scheduling
Season, 73 FR 54659 (Sept. 22, 2008); Notice of Submission Deadline
for Schedule Information for San Francisco International Airport for
the Summer 2012 Scheduling Season, 76 FR 64163 (Oct. 17, 2011);
Notice of Submission Deadline for Schedule Information for Los
Angeles International Airport for the Summer 2015 Scheduling Season
80 FR 12253 (Mar. 6, 2015); Notice of Change of Newark Liberty
International Airport Designation, 81 FR 19861 (Apr. 6, 2016). The
FAA most recently reaffirmed the Level 2 designations by 86 FR 24428
(May 6, 2021). These designations remain effective until the FAA
announces a change in the Federal Register.
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At DCA, U.S. and foreign air carriers, including commuter
operators, must notify the FAA of: (1) Written consent and requests for
confirmation of slot transfers; (2) slots required to be returned and
slots voluntarily returned; (3) requests to be included in a lottery
for the permanent allocation of available slots; (4) reports on usage
of slots on a bi-monthly basis; and (5) requests for slots in low-
demand hours or other temporary allocations. Operators must obtain a
reservation from the FAA prior to conducting an unscheduled operation.
At LGA, U.S. and foreign air carriers must notify the FAA of: (1)
Written consent and requests for confirmation of slot transfers; (2)
slots required to be returned and slots voluntarily returned; (3)
requests to be included in a lottery for the permanent allocation of
available slots; and (4) reports usage of slots on a bi-monthly basis.
Carriers must also request and obtain a reservation from the FAA prior
to conducting an unscheduled operation. At JFK, U.S. and foreign air
carriers must notify the FAA of: (1) Written consent and requests for
confirmation of slot transfers; (2) requests for seasonal allocation of
historic and additional available slots; (3) reports on usage of slots
on a seasonal basis; (4) the return of slots; and (5) changes to
allocated slots. At EWR, LAX, ORD, and SFO, all carriers are asked to
notify the FAA of their intended operating schedules during
[[Page 48467]]
designated hours on a semiannual basis (for each winter and summer
scheduling season) based on the IATA WASG Calendar of Coordination
Activities and provide updates throughout the year when there are
significant schedule changes.
The FAA estimates that all information from carriers is submitted
electronically from data stored in carrier scheduling and operational
databases. Requests for unscheduled flight reservations are submitted
electronically via the internet. The FAA also proposes to re-name the
collection to ``FAA Runway Slot Administration and Schedule Analysis''
to more accurately reflect the collection of information related to
multiple airports subject to different FAA regulatory and voluntary
processes.
Summary of Comments: On April 5, 2021, the FAA received an email
from Airlines for America (A4A) requesting further supporting
information for the FAA's March 16, 2021, 60-day notice. Specifically
A4A requested the estimates used to derive the total annual burden of
5602.6 hours expressed in the March 16, 2021, notice. In response, the
FAA placed a summary of communication and draft detailed annual hourly
burden tables to the docket.\3\
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\3\ See FAA-2021-0067-0002.
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The FAA received three comments during the 60-day comment period
from Exhaustless Inc., Eastern Airlines, LLC (Eastern), and A4A.
Exhaustless, Inc. objects to this information collection and questions
the FAA's legal authority to manage slots and schedules at constrained
airports in the United States. Comments submitted by Exhaustless, Inc.
are outside the scope of this Paperwork Reduction Act proceeding. The
purpose of this proceeding is to update the Agency's estimates of the
information collection burden associated with established FAA rules,
regulations, orders, policy and processes associated with the FAA's
administration of runway slots and schedule review at affected airports
in the United States. However, the FAA nevertheless reiterates that the
FAA Administrator is required to ``develop plans and policy for the use
of the navigable airspace and assign by regulation or order the use of
the airspace necessary to ensure the safety of aircraft and the
efficient use of airspace,'' and to issue regulations for ``using the
navigable airspace efficiently.'' 49 U.S.C. 40103(b). The FAA's
administration of the runway slot program, including the establishment
of runway schedule limits and facilitation of schedules at Level 2
airports, is adopted under the Administrator's mandate to efficiently
manage the NAS.
Eastern supports the information collection and ``provides its
recommendations to maximize the public benefit including: (1)
Collecting information about the size of aircraft used in each slot;
(2) collecting additional information on slot trades and transfers
including consideration provided; (3) publishing slot administration
reports in a machine-readable format; and (4) harmonizing slot
administration data collection and reporting on a bi-monthly basis.''
Eastern's recommendations for collecting the size of the aircraft
used in each slot, collecting additional information on slot trades and
transfers including consideration provided, and harmonizing slot
administration data collection and reporting among all the FAA slot
controlled airports on a bi-monthly basis are suggestions that are also
outside the scope of this Paperwork Reduction Act proceeding. These
recommendations do not relate to the burden associated with existing
rules and policy in effect and instead, would require changes to the
existing rules, orders and policies currently in effect. Eastern's
recommendation that FAA should publish slot administration reports in a
machine-readable format is valuable feedback, though unrelated to the
collection of information. The FAA currently publishes slot holder and
operator reports, and uneven transfer reports in a PDF file format at
<a href="https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/systemops/perf_analysis/slot_administration/data/">https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/systemops/perf_analysis/slot_administration/data/</a> and
intends to review options for publishing additional data in a more
accessible format for data analysis by interested stakeholders.
A4A's comment ``requests a different and simplified information
collection process for managing the slot holdings of carriers with
combined inventory and marketing control to drastically reduce
information collection burdens.'' Essentially, A4A proposes
programmatic changes to allow mainline and regional carriers to
transfer slots among one another without requiring notification of each
individual transfer to the FAA. A4A also asserts that FAA has
underestimated the burden associated with transfers and provided data
that they believe more accurately reflects the volume of transfers and
associated burden. A4A indicates it ``conducted a survey of members to
determine the actual number of slot transfers between operating and
marketing carriers at DCA, LGA, and JFK for the month of July 2019, and
found there were 36,180 such slot transfers. There were 14,125 slot
transfers at DCA, 14,897 slot transfers at LGA, and 7,158 slot
transfers at JFK, this is aggregated data, not estimates.'' Using the
FAA's estimate of 6 minutes per slot transfer, A4A comments ``this
results in 3,618 hours for the month of July 2019 or an annual burden
of 43,416 hours or more than 770% of FAA's burden estimate.'' A4A
asserts that this data further supports a change in the process for how
transfers are managed because both FAA and carriers could benefit from
reduced burden.
The FAA has reviewed the data presented by A4A as aggregated from
information on actual transfers provided by its members. For July 2019,
the data is generally consistent with the number of FAA slot transfers
in effect during that month between carriers with combined inventory
and marketing control. The A4A data is also generally consistent with
published flight schedules when looking at the breakdown between the
marketing and operating carriers. The large disparity between the FAA
and A4A estimates appears to be a result of A4A using a different
methodology for determining the volume of transfer requests submitted
to the FAA.
The A4A calculations appear to consider each day that a slot
transfer is in effect as a unique transfer that creates a unique
burden-producing event with associated costs. Under the methodology
used by A4A, the transfer of a daily slot for the entire month of July
2019 at a single airport would create 31 unique burdens. The transfer
of the daily slot extrapolated on an annual basis would have created
365 unique burdens in 2019. The FAA does not agree with the methodology
or burden estimates as proposed by A4A as it does not reflect how slot
transfers between carriers under combined inventory and marketing
control or those between other carriers are typically submitted to the
FAA. Most slot transfers are not submitted by carriers to the FAA for
single effective dates but rather for longer periods. The most common
effective dates are for several weeks, months, or for all or most of a
scheduling season. The FAA considers each slot transfer request from
carriers, as well as the FAA reply, as a burden-producing event rather
than the number of days in which a transfer is effective.
A4A's requested change for a different and simplified information
collection process for managing the slot holdings of carriers with
combined inventory and marketing control is outside the scope of
[[Page 48468]]
this Paperwork Reduction Act proceeding. Rather, as the FAA has
previously stated, implementing such a change would require rulemaking
at DCA and a substantive change to the Orders Limiting Operations, in
effect at JFK and LGA.\4\
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\4\ See FAA's January 29, 2018 Response to Delta Air Lines
Request for Transfer Process Change, a copy has been included in the
docket for this proceeding.
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Respondents: 119 unique carriers; unknown number of operators
conducting unscheduled operations at LGA and DCA.
Frequency: Information is collected as needed; some reporting on
bimonthly or semiannual basis.
Estimated Average Burden per Response: 6 minutes per slot
transaction per respondent (i.e. transferor and transferee); 6 minutes
per slot return; 6 minutes per schedule update; 6 minutes per request
for inclusion in a lottery; 2 minutes per unscheduled slot request; 1.5
hours per schedule submission; and 1 hour per slot usage report.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 5,602.6 hours.
Issued in Washington, DC on August 26, 2021.
Matthew S. Gonabe,
Program Specialist, FAA Slot Administration.
[FR Doc. 2021-18768 Filed 8-26-21; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P
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