Notice2025-14100
Staffing-Related Relief Concerning Operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and LaGuardia Airport, October 26, 2025, Through March 28, 2026 (Winter 2025/2026), and March 29, 2026, Through October 24, 2026 (Summer 2026)
Primary source
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Published
July 25, 2025
Effective
July 23, 2025
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Aviation Administration
Abstract
This action extends the Staffing-Related Relief Concerning Operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and LaGuardia Airport, initially published on September 20, 2023, and extended to October 26, 2025, through March 28, 2026 (Winter 2025/2026), and March 29, 2026, through October 24, 2026 (Summer 2026). The limited waiver is effective until October 24, 2026, and does not apply to any slots granted by the Department of Transportation pursuant to Section 505 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 141 (Friday, July 25, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 141 (Friday, July 25, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35360-35363]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-14100]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
Staffing-Related Relief Concerning Operations at Ronald Reagan
Washington National Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and
LaGuardia Airport, October 26, 2025, Through March 28, 2026 (Winter
2025/2026), and March 29, 2026, Through October 24, 2026 (Summer 2026)
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of
Transportation.
ACTION: Limited Waiver of the Slot Usage Requirement at DCA, JFK, and
LGA.
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SUMMARY: This action extends the Staffing-Related Relief Concerning
Operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, John F.
Kennedy International Airport, and LaGuardia Airport, initially
published on September 20, 2023, and extended to October 26, 2025,
through March 28, 2026 (Winter 2025/2026), and March 29, 2026, through
October 24, 2026 (Summer 2026). The limited waiver is effective until
October 24, 2026, and does not apply to any slots granted by the
Department of Transportation pursuant to Section 505 of the FAA
Reauthorization Act of 2024.
DATES: This action is effective on July 23, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Requests may be submitted by mail to 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#a7908ac6d0c68ad4cbc8d3c6c3cacec9e7c1c6c689c0c8d1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a6918bc7d1c78bd5cac9d2c7c2cbcfc8e6c0c7c788c1c9d0">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Al Meilus, Slot Administration and
Capacity 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#4a2b2664272f23263f390a2c2b2b642d253c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="22434e0c4f474b4e5751624443430c454d54">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The New York Terminal Radar Approach Control facility (N90)
[[Page 35361]]
currently provides Air Traffic Control (ATC) services to overhead
flights in the Northeast corridor and to the New York City area
airports, including John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and
LaGuardia Airport (LGA). The airspace complexity resulting from the
close proximity of the major commercial airports serving the New York
City region is a significant contributing factor to delays at JFK and
LGA. The FAA continues to evaluate technological solutions to alleviate
this cause of delay, but until then, the FAA expects this to continue
to contribute to delays at both airports. Against this challenging
backdrop, although FAA is accelerating the hiring and training for air
traffic controllers, N90 continues to face staffing shortfalls that
impact ATC's ability to efficiently manage the volume of air traffic in
this congested airspace.
As a result of the staffing constraints, the FAA previously issued
relief from minimum usage requirements on September 20, 2023, which
applied to the Winter 2023/2024 season and Summer 2024 season.\1\
Subsequently, that relief was extended through the Winter 2024/2025
season and Summer 2025 season.\2\ The FAA has determined that N90 will
need to reach at least 70% of its targeted number of onboard Certified
Professional Controllers (CPCs) before ATC can efficiently manage the
full capacity of the New York airspace that was in place prior to May
15, 2023.
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\1\ 88 FR 64793 (Sept. 20, 2023).
\2\ 89 FR 49256 (June 11, 2024).
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The FAA has made significant changes to increase N90 staffing
through a combination of incentive and training programs, as well as by
relocating control of the Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
area from N90 to the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control (PHL)
beginning in late July 2024. The operational impact of changes to
address N90 staffing shortages will not be realized immediately, but
charts a path to mitigating the impact in the next 12-18 months.
The targeted staffing number at N90 is 226 CPCs; the current CPC
onboard number at N90 is 123 (representing 54 percent staffed).
At one time, N90 had been responsible for overseeing the Newark
area, with 33 CPCs designated for that area. In July of 2024, the FAA
relocated control of the Newark area from N90 to PHL. Twenty-four of
the 33 CPCs also relocated to PHL, while the remaining CPCs started
training in preparation for reassignment to other areas in N90.\3\
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\3\ Previous iterations of this staffing-related relief included
EWR. However, after the EWR delay reduction meetings held on May 14-
16, 2025, the FAA determined the targeted scheduling limits at EWR
needed to decrease due to staffing, construction, and technology
issues at the airport. EWR will be addressed in a separate action in
order to address the particular circumstances present at that
airport. See 90 FR 20545 (May 14, 2025).
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At N90, aggressive training plans are in place to certify both new
trainees and those CPCs previously overseeing the Newark area who did
not transfer to PHL. The FAA believes that those CPCs in training for
reassignment will certify much more quickly than new trainees who do
not have previous N90 experience. This will allow N90 to make
significant gains in its staffing percentages over 2025 and 2026. N90
currently has 76 trainees in various phases of training.
With ever-growing demand for air travel in the New York City
region, additional measures are necessary to ensure that the FAA is
able to provide expeditious services to aircraft operators and their
passengers that traverse this airspace. Early discussions with carriers
indicate an interest in increasing operations after October 26, 2025,
through most of Winter 2025/2026 and for all of Summer 2026. This being
the case, the FAA expects increased delays and cancellations in the New
York region to exceed those experienced over Summer 2022 and Winter
2022/2023 \4\ if a waiver similar to the one that has been in effect
from Summer 2023 through Summer 2025 is not extended through Summer
2026 to allow carriers to reduce schedules without penalties for non-
use of slots. Reducing schedules will improve the alignment between
scheduled operations and actual operations, will help prevent
unnecessary delays, will help optimize the efficient use of the
airports' resources, and will help deliver passengers to their
destinations more reliably on time.
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\4\ Refer to ``Analysis'' section for delay analysis.
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Summary of Petitions Received
On April 21, 2025, Airlines for America (A4A) submitted a petition
on behalf of its member carriers \5\ requesting an extension of the
current relief provided by the FAA due to post-pandemic effects on ATC
staffing at N90 through the end of the Summer 2027 season. A4A asserts
that the current slot waiver successfully created a better travel
experience for consumers and that the underlying conditions creating
the need for a waiver still exist as staffing shortages persist. A4A
expresses appreciation for the steps taken towards hiring and retaining
CPCs and in moving oversight of the Newark airspace from N90 to PHL,
but stated that these initiatives would take years to stabilize
staffing levels effectively. In addition, A4A requests that the FAA
restore carriers' ability to request retroactive relief if the impacts
of controller staffing shortages are even more severe than anticipated
and that the FAA not reallocate returned slots for ad-hoc use during
the waiver period. Finally, A4A requests that the FAA make a timely
decision regarding relief as time is needed to give carriers stability
and the ability to plan.
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\5\ A4A members are Alaska Air Group, Inc.; American Airlines
Group, Inc.; Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc.; Delta Air Lines,
Inc.; FedEx Corp.; Hawaiian Airlines; JetBlue Airways Corp.;
Southwest Airlines Co.; United Airlines Holdings, Inc.; and United
Parcel Service Co. Air Canada is an associate member.
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Standard
At JFK and LGA, slot-holding carriers must use each assigned slot
at least 80 percent of the time.\6\ The FAA will withdraw slots not
meeting the minimum usage requirements. The FAA may waive the 80% usage
requirement in the event of a highly unusual and unpredictable
condition that is beyond the control of the slot-holding air carrier,
and which affects carrier operations for a period of five consecutive
days or more.\7\
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\6\ Operating Limitations at John F. Kennedy International
Airport, 89 FR 41486 (May 13, 2024); Operating Limitations at New
York LaGuardia Airport, 89 FR 41484 (May 13, 2024).
\7\ At JFK, FAA will determine historical rights to operating
authorizations and withdrawal of those rights due to insufficient
usage on a seasonal basis and in accordance with the schedule
approved by FAA prior to the commencement of the applicable season.
See JFK Order, 89 FR at 41488. At LGA, FAA will withdraw any
operating authorization not used at least 80% of the time over a
two-month period. See LGA Order, 89 FR at 41485.
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At Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), the FAA also
will recall any slot not used at least 80 percent of the time over a
two-month period.\8\ The FAA may waive this minimum usage requirement
in the event of a highly unusual and unpredictable condition that is
beyond the control of the slot-holding carrier, and which exists for a
period of nine or more days.\9\
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\8\ See 14 CFR 93.227(a).
\9\ See 14 CFR 93.227(j).
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In determining historical rights to allocated slots, including
whether to grant a waiver of the usage requirement, the FAA seeks to
ensure the efficient use of valuable aviation infrastructure and
maximize the benefits to both airport users and the traveling public.
The minimum usage requirement is expected to accommodate routine
cancellations under all but the most unusual circumstances. Carriers
proceed
[[Page 35362]]
at their own risk if they make scheduling decisions in anticipation of
the FAA granting a slot usage waiver.
Analysis
The number of certified controllers at N90 is still not sufficient
to allow the FAA to handle normal traffic levels. The FAA has worked
with NATCA on a long-term solution to solve thechronic low levels of
fully certified air traffic controllers at that facility through a
combination of incentive and training programs, as well as relocating
control of the EWR area to PHL. The FAA will continue to partner with
NATCA as it continues efforts to remediate ATC staffing shortages at
N90.
Due to the volume of originating and destination flights in the New
York City region, as well as the interdependency and complexity of the
airspace surrounding JFK and LGA, delays caused in part by N90 staffing
shortfalls are expected to significantly impact carriers' ability to
operate and meet minimum usage requirements in Winter 2025/2026 and
Summer 2026. Absent increased flexibility, the FAA anticipates a high
likelihood of congestion, delay, and cancellations at JFK and LGA.
Typically, the 20 percent non-utilization allowed under the minimum
usage requirement accounts for cancellations due to ATC staffing
delays; however, the extent of N90 staffing shortfalls and the expected
numbers of scheduled operations for Winter 2025/2026 and Summer 2026
present a highly unusual and unpredictable condition beyond the control
of carriers that will impact operations through the entire Winter 2025/
2026 and Summer 2026 scheduling seasons.
Using the Annual Service Volume (ASV) model,\10\ the FAA projected
the delay the NYC airports would experience in the absence of a waiver
for Summer 2024.\11\ Using Summer 2022 data \12\ as baseline
comparison, the FAA estimated Summer 2024 would have experienced an
increase of operations of 8.8-11 percent,\13\ which would have resulted
in 2.3 to 2.8 million minutes of additional delay, or 53-65 percent
additional delay, compared to the delay experienced in Summer 2022.
Because demand has remained the same or increased, in the absence of a
waiver, the FAA expects these delay numbers, at a minimum, to remain
valid through Summer 2026.
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\10\ FAA-developed modeling suite of tools for conducting
operational impact analysis for airports and to establish the annual
service volume for airports. ASV simulations relate total annual
operations to a target delay value and are used by FAA in reports to
Congress that identify the airports projected to constrain the NAS.
See <a href="https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/systemops/perf_analysis/sim_tools">https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/systemops/perf_analysis/sim_tools</a>.
\11\ FAA projected a Summer 2024 scenario because FAA has
already received the air carrier schedules for Summer 2024.
\12\ Summer 2022 data is used as baseline for comparison because
this was the last summer scheduling season unaffected by the ATC
waivers.
\13\ Under the current waiver, carriers returned 9% of their
initially submitted schedules. Compared to Summer 2023, scheduled
operations in Summer 2024 increased by 2%. If FAA assumes an 80%
actual usage rate, that results in 8.8% (that is, ((0.09 + 0.02) x
0.8 = 0.088) increase of actual operations. If FAA assumes 100%
actual usage rate, then that would be an 11% (0.09 + 0.02) increase.
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Therefore, a waiver of minimum slot usage requirements at JFK and
LGA through October 24, 2026, is necessary to allow carriers to reduce
operations to enable scheduling and operational stability for the
benefit of the flying public.
In addition, because New York City-DCA is a high-frequency market
for multiple carriers, the FAA recognizes this market is a likely
target for carriers to consolidate flights while retaining their
network connectivity. If carriers choose to reduce their schedules in
the New York City-DCA market, the FAA encourages, to the extent
practical, carriers to utilize their DCA slots to operate to other
destinations. However, if carriers choose not to utilize their DCA
slots elsewhere, the FAA may consider providing relief to DCA slots
that are impacted by the reduction in operations at the New York City
airports, except that the limited waiver of the minimum slot usage
requirements is not available for any slots granted by the DOT pursuant
to Section 502 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (Pub. L. 118-63).
Carriers have the ability to request retroactive relief; however,
they should be aware that the N90 staffing shortfalls will not likely
form a sufficient basis for further relief after Winter 2025/2026 and
Summer 2026 because carriers will have had sufficient opportunity to
plan and take remedial action under this waiver policy. The FAA does
not foresee providing additional post-hoc relief associated with ATC
staffing given the extraordinary relief provided here. Given this
relief, operational impacts associated with N90 staffing beyond Winter
2025/2026 and Summer 2026 will likely not have been beyond carriers'
control and will not serve as a justification for a separate waiver.
Moreover, access to the New York City airspace is a scarce and
valuable public asset, and airlines and airports should be making the
most appropriate use of this asset in support of the traveling public
and the national economy without broad, prospective waivers. Going
forward beyond the Summer 2026 season, the FAA does not anticipate
issuing further broad, prospective relief. As stated above, carriers
will retain the ability to submit post-hoc waiver requests for flights
that could not be operated and that meet the applicable waiver standard
due to ATC staffing deficiencies.
Decision
The FAA determined that the post-pandemic effects on N90 staffing
meet the applicable waiver standards and warrant a limited waiver of
minimum slot usage requirements at JFK and LGA to allow carriers to
return up to 10 percent of their slots at each airport, as well as
impacted operations between DCA and JFK or LGA. Despite staffing
projections indicating N90 will not reach 70 percent of the targeted
staffing level until after the conclusion of 2026, the FAA is taking a
measured approach and providing relief in this waiver notice only until
the end of Summer 2026. The FAA will re-evaluate the staffing levels at
N90 and the impact to operations in the New York City area before
deciding if a waiver beyond Summer 2026 is necessary.
Carriers seeking to return their slots must do so by August 15,
2025, for Winter 2025/2026 (October 26, 2025, through March 28, 2026);
and by January 15, 2026, for Summer 2026 (March 29, 2026, through
October 24, 2026) to be eligible for relief under this waiver. For DCA,
this relief is available only for flights impacted by operations to or
from JFK or LGA. Furthermore, the FAA expects carriers to up-gauge
aircraft serving the affected airports to the extent possible to
maintain passenger throughput and minimize the impact on consumers. The
FAA also expects carriers to maintain connections between the affected
airports and regional airports to the extent possible in support of
continuous scheduled interstate air transportation for small
communities and isolated areas. The FAA will closely coordinate with
the Office of the Secretary of Transportation, which will be monitoring
for indications of unfair, deceptive, or anticompetitive practices or
other unlawful economic activity associated with or resulting from the
relief granted by this notice. In addition, the FAA expects carriers to
return scheduled operations in the peak delay periods of the day. The
following hours (in local time) are the most prone to delay at each
airport: JFK: 1300-2259 and LGA: 1300-2159.
[[Page 35363]]
The FAA will not reallocate the temporarily returned slots at JFK
and LGA, as the goal is to reduce the total volume of operations in the
New York City region. Carriers are encouraged to utilize their DCA
slots in other markets before returning them to the FAA. In the event
DCA slots are returned under this waiver, other carriers will have an
opportunity to operate the slots on an ad hoc basis without historic
precedence.
The FAA will treat as used the specific slots returned in
accordance with the conditions in this notice for the period from
October 26, 2025, through March 28, 2026, (Winter 2025/2026) and March
29, 2026, through October 24, 2026 (Summer 2026).
The relief is subject to the following conditions:
1. The specific slots must be returned to the FAA by August 15,
2025, for Winter 2025/2026; and by January 15, 2026, for Summer 2026.
2. This waiver applies only to slots that have corresponding,
scheduled operations during the period of the grant. A carrier
temporarily returning a slot to the FAA for relief under this waiver
must identify corresponding scheduled operations for Winter 2025/2026,
or approved slots for Summer 2026. The FAA may validate information
against published schedule data prior to the issuance of this notice,
and other operational data maintained by the FAA. Slots returned
without an associated scheduled and canceled operation will not receive
relief.
3. Slots newly allocated for initial use since the previous
corresponding scheduling season are not eligible for relief.
4. Slot exemptions authorized at DCA by the Department of
Transportation are not eligible for relief.
5. Carriers must not engage in unfair, deceptive, or
anticompetitive practices regarding their slot usage, leasing
agreements, or operations associated with the relief provided by this
notice.
Issued in Washington, DC, on July 23, 2025.
William McKenna,
Chief Counsel.
Shawn M. Kozica,
Deputy Vice President (A), System Operations Services.
[FR Doc. 2025-14100 Filed 7-23-25; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P
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