Notice2021-21675
Notice of Submission Deadline for Schedule Information for Chicago O'Hare International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, and San Francisco International Airport for the Summer 2022 Scheduling Season
Primary source
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Published
October 4, 2021
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Aviation Administration
Abstract
Under this notice, the FAA announces the submission deadline of October 7, 2021, for Summer 2022 flight schedules at Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), and San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 189 (Monday, October 4, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 189 (Monday, October 4, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54782-54784]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-21675]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
Notice of Submission Deadline for Schedule Information for
Chicago O'Hare International Airport, John F. Kennedy International
Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Newark Liberty
International Airport, and San Francisco International Airport for the
Summer 2022 Scheduling Season
AGENCY: Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA).
ACTION: Notice of submission deadline.
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SUMMARY: Under this notice, the FAA announces the submission deadline
of October 7, 2021, for Summer 2022 flight schedules at Chicago O'Hare
International Airport (ORD), John F. Kennedy International Airport
(JFK), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Newark Liberty
International Airport (EWR), and San Francisco International Airport
(SFO).
DATES: Schedules should be submitted by October 7, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Schedules may be submitted to the Slot Administration Office
by email to: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2512086472640856494a514441484c4b654344440b424a53"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="51667c1006107c223d3e2530353c383f113730307f363e27">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Al Meilus, Manager, Slot
Administration, AJR-G, Federal Aviation Administration, 800
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202) 267-2822;
email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#eaab86c4a78f83869f99aa8c8b8bc48d859c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="de9fb2f093bbb7b2abad9eb8bfbff0b9b1a8">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides routine notice to
carriers serving capacity-constrained airports in the United States,
including Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), John F. Kennedy
International Airport (JFK), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX),
Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), and San Francisco
International Airport (SFO). In particular, this notice announces the
deadline for carriers to submit schedules for the Summer 2022
scheduling season. The FAA deadline coincides with the schedule
submission deadline established in the International Air Transport
Association (IATA) Calendar of Coordination Activities.
General Information for All Airports
The FAA has designated EWR, LAX, ORD, and SFO as IATA Level 2
airports \1\ subject to a schedule review process premised upon
voluntary cooperation. The FAA has designated JFK as an IATA Level 3
airport consistent with the Worldwide Slot Guidelines (WSG), now
generally known as the Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines (WASG).\2\ The
FAA currently limits scheduled operations at JFK by order that expires
on October 29, 2022.\3\ The Summer 2022 scheduling season is from March
27, 2022, through October 29, 2022, in recognition of the IATA summer
scheduling period. Notwithstanding that carriers may presently face
uncertainty about their international operations in light of
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), carriers should plan and submit
their schedules under the assumption that no relief will be granted at
Level 2 and Level 3 airports during the Summer 2022 scheduling
season.\4\ The FAA and the Office of the Secretary will continue to
monitor industry developments closely and will announce any possible
COVID-19-related relief, if it is deemed necessary, in a separate
notice. Any possible relief for the Summer 2022 scheduling season and
any possible action to alter the established rules and policies for
slot management and schedule facilitation in the United States are not
within the scope of this notice. The FAA does, however, understand the
need for carriers to plan in advance with as much certainty as possible
regarding the applicable regulatory and procedural framework. As the
industry gradually recovers, new entrant and other carriers have
commenced some operations using capacity that was not being operated by
the carriers having historic precedence to that capacity under the
waiver policy. The DOT/FAA seeks to facilitate all segments of the
industry's recovery from the pandemic and ensure that the
transportation needs of the American people are efficiently met,
especially during the economic recovery. Therefore, carriers should not
assume further relief will be made available for the Summer 2022
scheduling season.
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\1\ These designations remain effective until the FAA announces
a change in the Federal Register.
\2\ The FAA generally applies the WSG to the extent there is no
conflict with U.S. law or regulation. The FAA is reviewing recent
substantive amendments to the WSG adopted in edition 10. The FAA
recognizes the WSG has been replaced by the WASG edition 1 effective
June 1, 2020. While the FAA is considering whether to implement
certain changes in the United States, it will continue to apply WSG
edition 9.
\3\ Operating Limitations at John F. Kennedy International
Airport, 73 FR 3510 (Jan. 18, 2008), as most recently extended 85 FR
58258 (Sep. 18, 2020). The slot coordination parameters for JFK are
set forth in this Order.
\4\ For additional information on COVID-19 impacts at designated
IATA Level 2 and 3 airports in the United States and actions taken
by the FAA to preserve stability through the Summer 2021 scheduling
season, see FAA Policy Statement: Limited, Conditional Extension of
COVID-19 Related Relief for the Summer 2021 Scheduling Season,
Docket No. FAA-2020-0862 (Jan. 14, 2021). See also Notice of
proposed extension of a limited, conditional waiver of the minimum
slot usage requirement for all international operations. 86 FR 52114
(Sep. 20, 2021).
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The FAA is primarily concerned about scheduled and other regularly
conducted commercial operations during designated hours, but carriers
may submit schedule plans for the entire day. The designated hours for
the Summer 2022 scheduling season are: At EWR and JFK from 0600 to 2300
Eastern Time (1000 to 0300 UTC), at LAX and SFO from 0600 to 2300
Pacific Time (1300 to 0600 UTC), and at ORD from 0600 to 2100 Central
Time (1100 to 0200 UTC). These hours are unchanged from previous
scheduling seasons.
Carriers should submit schedule information in sufficient detail
including, at minimum, the marketing or operating carrier, flight
number, scheduled time of operation, frequency, aircraft equipment, and
effective dates. IATA standard schedule information format and data
elements for communications at Level 2 and Level 3 airports in the IATA
Standard Schedules Information Manual (SSIM) Chapter 6 may be used. The
WSG provides additional information on schedule submissions at Level 2
and Level 3 airports. Some carriers at JFK
[[Page 54783]]
manage and track slots through FAA-assigned Slot ID numbers
corresponding to an arrival or departure slot in a particular half-hour
on a particular day of week and date. The FAA has a similar voluntary
process for tracking schedules at EWR with Reference IDs, and certain
carriers are managing their schedules accordingly. These are primarily
U.S. and Canadian carriers that have the highest frequencies and
considerable schedule changes throughout the season and can benefit
from a simplified exchange of information not dependent on full flight
details. Carriers are encouraged to submit schedule requests at those
airports using Slot or Reference IDs.
As stated in the WSG, schedule facilitation at a Level 2 airport is
based on the following: (1) Schedule adjustments are mutually agreed
upon between the carriers and the facilitator; (2) the intent is to
avoid exceeding the airport's coordination parameters; (3) the concepts
of historic precedence and series of slots do not apply at Level 2
airports; although WSG recommends giving priority to approved services
that plan to operate unchanged from the previous equivalent season at
Level 2 airports, and (4) the facilitator should adjust the smallest
number of flights by the least amount of time necessary to avoid
exceeding the airport's coordination parameters. Consistent with the
WSG, the success of Level 2 in the United States depends on the
voluntary cooperation of carriers.
The FAA considers several factors and priorities as it reviews
schedule and slot requests at Level 2 and Level 3 airports, which are
consistent with the WSG, including--historic slots or services from the
previous equivalent season over new demand for the same timings,
services that are unchanged over services that plan to change time or
other capacity relevant parameters, introduction of year-round
services, effective period of operation, regularly planned operations
over ad hoc operations, and other operational factors that may limit a
carrier's timing flexibility. In addition to applying these priorities
from the WSG, the U.S. Government has adopted a number of measures and
procedures to promote competition and new entry at U.S. slot-controlled
and schedule-facilitated airports.
Consistent with the limited, conditional extension of COVID-19
related relief for the Summer 2021 scheduling season,\5\ slots or
schedules operated as approved on a non-historic or an ad hoc basis in
Summer 2021 will be given priority over new requests for the same
timings in Summer 2022, subject to capacity availability and consistent
with established rules and policies in effect in the United States.
This priority applies to slot or schedule requests for Summer 2022,
which are comparable in timing, frequency, and duration to the ad hoc
approvals made by the FAA for Summer 2021. This priority does not
affect the historic precedence or priority of slot holders and carriers
with schedule approvals, respectively, which met the conditions of the
waiver during Summer 2021 and which seek to resume operating in Summer
2022. The FAA may consider this priority in the event that slots with
historic precedence become available for permanent allocation by the
FAA. Foreign air carriers seeking priority under this provision will be
required to represent that their home jurisdiction will provide
reciprocal priority to U.S. carrier requests of this nature.
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\5\ See FAA Policy Statement: Limited, Conditional Extension of
COVID-19 Related Relief for the Summer 2021 Scheduling Season,
Docket No. FAA-2020-0862 (Jan. 14, 2021).
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At Level 2 airports, the FAA seeks to maintain close communications
with carriers and terminal schedule facilitators on potential runway
schedule issues or terminal and gate issues that may affect the runway
times. As explained in prior notices, the FAA also seeks to reduce the
time that carriers consider proposed offers on schedules. To allow the
FAA to make informed decisions at airports where operations in some
hours are at or near the desired scheduling limits, the FAA expects it
will substantially complete the review process on initial submissions
each scheduling season within 30 days of the end of the Slot
Conference. After this time, the agency confirms the acceptance of
proposed offers or informs carriers of available alternative times, as
applicable.
Slot management in the United States differs in some respect from
procedures in other countries. In the United States, the FAA is
responsible for facilitation and coordination of runway access for
takeoffs and landings at Level 2 and Level 3 airports; however, the
airport authority or its designee is responsible for facilitation and
coordination of terminal/gate/airport facility access. The process with
the individual airports for terminal access and other airport services
is separate from, and in addition to, the FAA schedule review based on
runway capacity.
Generally, the FAA uses average hourly runway capacity throughput
for airports and performance metrics in conducting its schedule review
at Level 2 airports and determining the scheduling limits at Level 3
airports included in FAA rules or orders.\6\ The FAA also considers
other factors that can affect operations, such as capacity changes due
to runway, taxiway, or other airport construction, air traffic control
procedural changes, airport surface operations, and historical or
projected flight delays and congestion.
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\6\ The FAA typically determines an airport's average adjusted
runway capacity or typical throughput for Level 2 airports by
reviewing hourly data on the arrival and departure rates that air
traffic control indicates could be accepted for that hour, commonly
known as ``called'' rates. The FAA also reviews the actual number of
arrivals and departures that operated in the same hour. Generally,
the FAA uses the higher of the two numbers, called or actual, for
identifying trends and schedule review purposes. Some dates are
excluded from analysis, such as during periods when extended airport
closures or construction could affect capacity.
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Finally, the FAA notes that the schedule information submitted by
carriers to the FAA may be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA). The WSG also provides for release of
information at certain stages of slot coordination and schedule
facilitation. In general, once it acts on a schedule submission or slot
request, the FAA may release information on slot allocation or similar
slot transactions or schedule information reviewed as part of the
schedule facilitation process. The FAA does not expect that practice to
change and most slot and schedule information would not be exempt from
release under FOIA. The FAA recognizes that some carriers may submit
information on schedule plans that is both customarily and actually
treated as private. Carriers that submit such confidential schedule
information should clearly mark the information, or any relevant
portions thereof, as proprietary information (``PROPIN''). The FAA will
take the necessary steps to protect properly designated information to
the extent allowable by law.
EWR General Information
Consistent with the WSG, carriers are asked for their voluntary
cooperation to adjust schedules to meet the targeted scheduling limits
in order to minimize potential congestion and delay. For the Summer
2022 season, the voluntary, targeted hourly scheduling limit remains at
79 operations and 43 operations per half-hour.\7\ To help with a
balance between arrivals and departures, the targeted maximum number of
scheduled arrivals or departures, respectively, is 43 in an hour and 24
in a half-hour. These targets
[[Page 54784]]
are expected to allow some higher levels of operations in certain
periods (not to exceed the hourly limits) and some recovery from lower
demand in adjacent periods. Consistent with general established
practice at EWR, the FAA will accept flights above the limits if the
flights were operated as approved, or treated as operated, by the same
carrier on a regular basis in the previous corresponding season (i.e.,
Summer 2021).
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\7\ 83 FR 21335 (May 9, 2018).
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Notwithstanding the targeted limits at EWR previously described,
OST and the FAA have announced the intent to reintroduce and reassign
16 peak afternoon and evening runway timings, which were historically
approved for operation by Southwest Airlines, Inc. at EWR prior to the
carrier's exit from the airport in November 2019. As proposed, these 16
timings would be reassigned for the benefit of a single low-cost
carrier or ultra-low-cost carrier at EWR.\8\ This proposed EWR
reassignment process responds to the decision of the Court of Appeals
for the D.C. Circuit in Spirit Airlines v. DOT, et al., and furthers
the whole of government approach to competition embodied in the
President's Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American
Economy (E.O. 14036). This proposed reassignment of schedule timings at
EWR is an independent process outside of the FAA's routine schedule
review process. While the FAA would accommodate the reassignment of the
16 peak afternoon and evening operations as proposed in the September
20, 2021 notice, the FAA would continue to seek voluntary cooperation
from all carriers to adjust schedules at EWR in an effort to manage the
operation within the desired scheduling limits. Once the reassignment
proceeding is complete, the FAA would seek to work in coordination with
the awarded carrier to adjust schedules within the peak afternoon and
evening period, including minor changes between adjacent half hours, in
the interest of optimizing efficiency and accommodating the carrier's
schedule plans, consistent with the usual Level 2 process.
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\8\ Reassignment of Schedules at Newark-Liberty International
Airport, 86 FR 52285 (Sept. 20, 2021). The proposed reassignment
process was subject to public comment. Comments were due in docket
DOT-OST-2021-0103 no later than Monday, September 27, 2021.
Issued in Washington, DC, on September 30, 2021.
Virginia T. Boyle,
Vice President, System Operations Services.
[FR Doc. 2021-21675 Filed 9-30-21; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P
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