FAA caps O'Hare flights

The Federal Aviation Administration will cap summer flights at Chicago O’Hare starting May 17 after airlines scheduled more service than the airport could handle. (faa.gov) The order limits O’Hare to 2,708 arrivals and departures a day from 6 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. Central Time through Oct. 24, 2026. Airlines had planned more than 3,080 flights on peak summer days, a 14.9% increase from summer 2025. (federalregister.gov) (faa.gov) The Federal Aviation Administration said the cap will be allocated using airlines’ approved summer 2025 schedules, which blocks later-added summer 2026 growth plans. The agency said unapproved schedules filed after the normal timetable would exceed O’Hare’s capacity amid construction and competition between the airport’s two biggest carriers. (federalregister.gov) O’Hare is not a fully slot-controlled airport like LaGuardia or Reagan National, but it is one of several U.S. airports where the Federal Aviation Administration formally reviews airline schedules before peak seasons. The agency said it generally uses International Air Transport Association scheduling rules at O’Hare unless U.S. law says otherwise. (faa.gov) The immediate issue is delay risk. The Federal Aviation Administration said fewer than 60% of O’Hare arrivals and departures were on time last summer, and it said the new limit is meant to keep summer 2026 delays from getting worse than summer 2025. (faa.gov) (federalregister.gov) The agency tied the congestion to taxiway closures, constrained gate capacity and a tighter airfield layout during construction. It also said overscheduling at O’Hare can ripple through the national system because the airport is the busiest in the country by flight volume. (faa.gov) The cap followed a formal reduction process under federal law. The Transportation Department asked the Federal Aviation Administration to convene carriers, the agency opened the process on March 3 and March 4, and written submissions were due March 11 before the final order was issued on April 16. (federalregister.gov) (faa.gov) Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the administration used a similar overcapacity strategy at Newark Liberty and wants “certainty” for travelers booking summer trips. Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Bryan Bedford said schedules must match “what the system can safely handle.” (faa.gov) For travelers, the practical result is fewer flights on paper before the busiest part of the season, with the government betting that a smaller schedule will produce fewer missed connections and fewer hours spent waiting on the tarmac. (faa.gov)