Rule2024-10319
Runway Closure-Related Scheduling Relief Concerning Operations at San Francisco International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, and John F. Kennedy International Airport, January 15, 2024, Through July 15, 2024
Primary source
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Published
May 17, 2024
Effective
May 17, 2024
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Aviation Administration
Abstract
This notification announces a limited, conditional policy for prioritizing returned operations at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) due to a construction-related runway closure at SFO for purposes of establishing a carrier's operational baseline in the next corresponding scheduling seasons. In addition, the FAA will provide similar limited, conditional relief at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) under the FAA's Level 2 schedule facilitation process as well as a limited, conditional waiver of minimum usage requirements at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) for impacted flights between SFO and the listed airports.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 97 (Friday, May 17, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 97 (Friday, May 17, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43309-43311]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10319]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 93
Runway Closure-Related Scheduling Relief Concerning Operations at
San Francisco International Airport, Newark Liberty International
Airport, Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Los Angeles
International Airport, and John F. Kennedy International Airport,
January 15, 2024, Through July 15, 2024
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of
Transportation.
ACTION: Notification of limited waiver of slot usage requirement and
limited scheduling relief.
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SUMMARY: This notification announces a limited, conditional policy for
prioritizing returned operations at San Francisco International Airport
(SFO) due to a construction-related runway closure at SFO for purposes
of establishing a carrier's operational baseline in the next
corresponding scheduling seasons. In addition, the FAA will provide
similar limited, conditional relief at Newark Liberty International
Airport (EWR), Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), and Los
Angeles International Airport (LAX) under the FAA's Level 2 schedule
facilitation process as well as a limited, conditional waiver of
minimum usage requirements at John F. Kennedy International Airport
(JFK) for impacted flights between SFO and the listed airports.
DATES: The limited waiver of slot usage requirement and limited
scheduling relief in this notification are effective May 17, 2024, and
applicable from January 15, 2024, through July 15, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Requests may be submitted by mail to the Slot Administration
Office, System Operations Services, AJR-0, Room 300W, 800 Independence
Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591, or by email to: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cdfae0acbaace0bea1a2b9aca9a0a4a38dabacace3aaa2bb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0d3a206c7a6c207e6162796c696064634d6b6c6c236a627b">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions concerning this
notification contact: Al Meilus, Capacity and Slot Analysis, FAA ATO
System Operations Services, AJR-G5, Federal Aviation Administration,
800 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591; telephone 202-267-
2822; email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a3c2cf8dcec6cacfd6d0e3c5c2c28dc4ccd5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ea8b86c4878f83869f99aa8c8b8bc48d859c">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The relief provided enables carriers to
return operations at SFO during the construction periods of the Winter
2023/2024 and Summer 2024 scheduling seasons without unduly impacting
schedules in subsequent seasons.\1\ Reducing operations will help
prevent delays, optimize the efficient use of the airport's available
resources, and deliver passengers to their destinations more reliably
and on time.
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\1\ For the purposes of this notification, a ``returned
operation'' is any planned operation included in the initially
approved schedules that a carrier moved or will not operate due to
the effort to reach the targeted reduced schedule throughout the
construction period at SFO. If a carrier elected to move an
operation, the operation was rescheduled outside of peak demand
hours or hours adjacent to peak demand as detailed in this
notification.
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Background
SFO is rehabilitating one of its four runways, Runway 10R/28L, to
maintain runway operability; to construct a new taxiway to improve
operational efficiency; and to realign an existing taxiway to rectify
deficiencies with current SFO geometry. Runway 10R/28L is one of two
parallel runways oriented in the east-west direction and is used as a
primary arrival runway and a secondary departure runway. The
construction will cause the continuous closure of Runway 10R/28L from
January 15, 2024, through June 30, 2024.
On October 26, 2023, the FAA held an initial meeting with all the
carriers that have scheduled operations at SFO. The FAA gave a
presentation on the expected impact of the construction project on
operations at SFO and recommended a reduction in operations to
alleviate potential delays and cancellations. SFO initially planned for
the project to occur in two phases: Phase 1 planned for January 16,
2024, through May 28, 2024; and Phase 2 planned for September 3, 2024,
through October 25, 2024.
On December 14, 2023, the FAA and SFO held a joint meeting with all
the carriers that have scheduled operations at SFO. SFO announced that
Phase 2 had been rescheduled to begin on May 29, 2024, and end on June
30, 2024. This change allows the construction to be condensed into one
continuous block of time from January 15, 2024, through June 30, 2024.
At both meetings, the FAA requested that carriers voluntarily
return operations. Carriers were asked to make initial returns by
November 2, 2023, for the affected portion of the winter scheduling
season; and by January 11, 2024, for the affected portion of the summer
2024 scheduling season. The FAA subsequently determined that relief
granted for the construction period should extend beyond the
construction period by an additional 15 days to accommodate carriers
resuming normal scheduled operations.
The FAA has designated SFO, EWR, ORD, and LAX as Level 2 airports
under the Worldwide Slot Guidelines (WSG).\2\ The FAA does not allocate
slots, apply historic precedence, or impose minimum usage requirements
at SFO. Level 2 schedule facilitation depends upon close and continuous
discussions and voluntary agreement between airlines and the FAA to
reduce congestion. At Level 2 airports, the FAA generally provides
priority consideration for flights approved by the FAA and operated by
the carrier in those approved times in the prior scheduling season when
the FAA reviews proposed flights for facilitation in the next
corresponding scheduling season. Only those flights that were actually
operated as approved in the prior scheduling season would generally
receive priority for the next corresponding scheduling season. However,
the FAA notes that the usual Level 2 processes include flexibility for
the facilitator to prioritize planned flights, which are canceled in
advance or on the day of the scheduled operation due to operational
impacts that are beyond the control of the carrier.
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\2\ The FAA generally applies the WSG to the extent there is no
conflict with U.S. law or regulation. The FAA recognizes the WSG has
been replaced by the Worldwide Airports Slot Guidelines (WASG)
edition 1, effective June 1, 2020, and subsequently WASG edition 2,
effective July 1, 2022. The WASG is published jointly by Airports
Council International-World, IATA, and the Worldwide Airport
Coordinators Group (WWACG). While the FAA is considering whether to
implement certain changes to the Guidelines in the United States, it
will continue to apply WSG edition 9.
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At JFK, each slot must be used a minimum of 80 percent of the
time.\3\ Slot usage at JFK is calculated seasonally. Slots not meeting
the minimum usage requirement will not receive historic status for the
following equivalent scheduling season.\4\ The FAA may waive the 80
percent minimum usage requirement if a highly unusual and unpredictable
condition beyond the control of the slot-holding air carrier affects
carrier operations for
[[Page 43310]]
a period of five consecutive days or more at JFK.\5\
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\3\ Operating Limitations at John F. Kennedy International
Airport, 87 FR 65161 at 65162 (Oct. 28, 2022); Operating Limitations
at New York LaGuardia Airport, 87 FR 65159 at 65160 (Oct. 28, 2022);
14 CFR 93.227(a).
\4\ Operating Limitations at John F. Kennedy International
Airport, 87 FR 65161 at 65162 (Oct. 28, 2022).
\5\ Operating Limitations at John F. Kennedy International
Airport, 87 FR 65161 at 65163 (Oct. 28, 2022); Operating Limitations
at New York LaGuardia Airport, 87 FR 65159 at 65160 (Oct. 28, 2022);
14 CFR 93.227(j).
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FAA Analysis
Due to the daily volume of flights arriving and departing SFO, the
closure of Runway 10R/28L is expected to significantly affect carriers'
ability to operate reliably and on time. Absent increased scheduling
flexibility during the construction period, the FAA anticipates a high
likelihood of congestion, delays, and cancellations at SFO, with
related impact at EWR, ORD, LAX, and JFK. The runway closure is
expected to impact carrier operations at SFO especially in the the peak
demand hours of 0900, 1200, 1500, 1700, 1800, 2000, and 2100 hours.
The FAA modeled two scenarios of the expected delays at SFO for
Phase 1 and Phase 2 respectively: one scenario without any mitigation
measures, and one scenario with arrival limit mitigation measures in
place. The mitigation measures incorporate Air Traffic Control (ATC)
data used to assess capacity at SFO throughout the construction period.
These mitigation measures align with the number of operations that ATC
finds to be sustainable during the runway closure, while accounting for
the differing arrival demand profiles in Phase 1 and Phase 2.
Phase 1 of the construction requires a total closure of Runway 10R/
28L, with Taxiways D and T partially affected. As such, for the
scenario without any mitigation measures, the FAA estimates
approximately 78% of total arrivals would be delayed by an average of
49 minutes per arrival. These arrival delays would be unrecoverable
throughout the day.
The FAA then modeled a scenario that limited the arrivals to no
more than 30 per hour throughout the day, except for the 0900, 1200,
1500, 1700, 1800, 2000, and 2100 hours where the arrival limit is
increased to no more than 35 per hour. This is because Phase 1 arrival
demand varies by hour, with peak arrival demand exceeding 35 per hour,
and off-peak arrival demand decreasing in some hours to under 25
arrivals per hour. Given that the capacity of the airport is limited to
30 arrivals per hour on average, the target arrival limits are set by
hour to accommodate variable hourly arrival demand, with an ability to
recover in adjacent hours. With this mitigation measure in place, the
FAA estimates that approximately 52% of total arrivals will experience
an average delay of about 21 minutes per arrival.
Phase 2 of the construction requires the total closure of Runway
10R/28L and Taxiways D and T. As such, for the scenario without any
mitigation measures, the FAA estimates approximately 90% of total
arrivals would be delayed by an average of 87.6 minutes per arrival.
The consequences of arrival delays of over two hours would result in 89
arrival cancellations per day.\6\ These arrival delays are expected to
be unrecoverable throughout the day.
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\6\ The FAA's delay model assumes that when estimated delay
becomes greater than 2 hours, an airline will cancel the operation.
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The FAA also modeled a scenario that limited the arrivals to no
more than 27 per hour throughout the day. This is because for Phase 2
the hourly arrival demand exceeds the airport's arrival capacity in
every hour; therefore, the target scheduling limit is set to the
airport's arrival capacity for every hour throughout the day. With this
mitigation measure in place, the FAA estimates that approximately 24%
of total arrivals will experience an average delay of approximately
10.4 minutes per arrival.
After assessing these scenarios, the FAA determined that the
mitigation measures for both Phase 1 and Phase 2 will balance efficient
and timely operations at SFO during the construction period and limit
the impact on carrier's scheduled operations for the convenience of the
flying public. Although the potential for significant delays may still
occur on late evenings during high-traffic days, the majority of
operating hours will be manageable throughout the day during the
construction period.
Decision
The FAA has determined that the construction and resulting runway
closure at SFO warrants limited, conditional schedule relief because
the impacts to operations are beyond the carriers' control and will
persist for several months during 2024.
For Phase 1, the FAA requests that carriers reduce operations in
the 0900, 1200, 1500, 1700, 1800, 2000, and 2100 hours to no more than
35 arrivals in each of these hours, without moving operations into the
adjacent hours. The adjacent hours are heavily subscribed with
departures, limiting the ability to move arrivals from peak hours into
the adjacent hours. Because the current scheduled arrival demand at SFO
for each of those hours is well above 35 arrivals,\7\ doing so would
result in a reduction of about 55 to 60 operations on peak days during
the construction period, depending on the day/week/month.
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\7\ 0900 hour has an arrival demand of 52. 1500 hour has an
arrival demand of 39. 2100 hour has an arrival demand of 42.
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For Phase 2, the FAA requests that carriers reduce operations to no
more than 27 arrivals per hour, without moving operations into the
adjacent hours. Because the current scheduled arrival demand at SFO for
each of those hours is well above 27 arrivals, doing so would result in
a reduction of about 140 operations on peak days during the
construction period, depending on the day or week or month.
The FAA is not limiting the relief to specific hours in order to
provide some degree of flexibility to carriers to allow them to balance
schedules and slot pairs. The FAA will continue to work with carriers
on retiming and schedule adjustment options throughout the construction
period as needed.
This relief is effective from January 15, 2024, through July 15,
2024. This provides some time before and after the currently planned
runway closure dates to accommodate potential changes to the
construction schedule, and provide carriers that may need some relief
on either side of the current anticipated construction dates to phase
in or phase out current operations.
In addition, the FAA is extending a limited, conditional waiver
from minimum usage requirements at JFK for departure slots for nonstop
service to SFO, and providing similar relief at EWR, LAX, and ORD under
the Level 2 process for approved schedules associated with a SFO
departures for nonstop service to these U.S. airports. Carriers may
also choose to use those slots at JFK and or the approved runway times
at EWR, LAX, and ORD for operations to airports other than SFO.
For the duration of the construction period, the FAA will recognize
priority of approved schedules or the historical precedence of related
slots, subject to the following conditions.
1. Slots or approved schedules for initial use in the Winter 2023/
2024 scheduling season are not eligible for relief. Slots or schedules
approved for initial use in the Summer 2024 scheduling season are not
eligible for relief.
2. Slots granted historic precedence for subsequent seasons based
on this relief are not eligible for transfer if the slot holder ceases
all operations at the airport.
[[Page 43311]]
Issued in Washington, DC, on May 2, 2024.
Alyce Hood-Fleming,
Vice President, System Operations Services.
[FR Doc. 2024-10319 Filed 5-16-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P
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