The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday announced measures to try to avoid a repeat of disruptions at airports serving New York City and Washington D.C. this summer as it grapples with a shortage of air traffic controllers at a key facility in the area.
Despite this, the FAA said it expects increased delays this summer compared with last year, projecting a 45% rise in delays with operations growing 7%.
Now more than ever, airlines are going to have to get inventive in finding new ways to ease disruptions if they want to win over their customers and remain competitive in light of the major chaos set to ensue this summer.
On March 22, 2023, the FAA issued this notice of limited waiver of the Slot Usage Requirement:
Staffing Related Relief Concerning Operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, and Newark Liberty International Airport, May 15, 2023, through September 15, 2023.
This notice announces a limited, conditional waiver of the minimum usage requirement that applies to Operating Authorizations or “slots” at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA), and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) due to post-pandemic effects on Air Traffic Controller (ATC) staffing at the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility (N90).
Carriers will be permitted to voluntarily turn in up to 10 percent of
their slots held at JFK and LGA as well as impacted slots at DCA for the period from May 15, 2023, through September 15, 2023, subject to the conditions and limitations in this notice.
In addition, this notice announces a limited policy for prioritizing returned operations at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) due to post-pandemic effects on ATC staffing at N90 for purposes of establishing a carrier’s operational baseline in the next corresponding season.
Carriers will be permitted to voluntarily turn in up to 10 percent of their approved operating timings at EWR for the period from May 15, 2023, through September 15, 2023, subject to the conditions and limitations in this notice. Carriers seeking to take advantage of this relief must identify the slots and approved operating timings they wish to turn in 2 before April 30, 2023.
This relief is being provided to give carriers the ability to reduce operations during the peak summer travel period, which are likely to be exacerbated by the effects of Air Traffic Controller (ATC) staffing shortfalls.
DATES: This action is effective upon publication
Background
The New York Terminal Radar Approach Control facility (N90) provides ATC services to overhead flights in the North East corridor and to the New York airports — JFK, LGA, and EWR. 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, LGA, and EWR.
Against this already challenging backdrop, according to FAA data, nationwide Certified Professional Controller (CPC) staffing averages 81 percent while N90 is maintained at about 54 percent of its CPC staffing target.
FAA acknowledges that temporary safety mitigations put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic impacted controller training. Dedicated training initiatives have been successful in reducing most of the training backlog with the exception of N90.
The staffing shortfalls at N90 limit the FAA’s ability to provide expeditious services to aircraft operators and their passengers that traverse this airspace.
During the period of May 2022 through September 2022, the total number of instances of delay to operations from JFK, LGA, and EWR totaled 41,498, with effects throughout the NAS and for which
staffing was a contributing factor. Notwithstanding FAA’s efforts to address N90 CPC staffing, the staffing rate for N90 has not improved and at the same time early carrier schedules indicate an increase in operations. This being the case, for summer 2023 the FAA expects increased delays in the New York region over summer 2022. Specifically, ATO modeling indicates operations at the New York airports is projected to increase by seven (7) percent, which FAA projects will result in overall delays increasing by 45 percent.
These projections are consistent with the 50 percent increase in the number of ground delay programs (GDPs) observed in January and February 2023 compared to the same months in 2022 at
the same airports.
The FAA is progressing towards a solution to the N90 staffing issues, based on moving responsibility for the Newark, New Jersey radar sector from N90 to the Philadelphia TRACON (PHL). Training for this sector move is slated to begin in September of this year and will take time to complete for cutover of responsibilities to PHL. Accordingly, this solution will not resolve the anticipated operational impacts in the summer 2023 scheduling season.
Decision
