2021-09535. 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 ...

AGENCY:

Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

ACTION:

Notice of submission deadline.

SUMMARY:

Under this notice, the FAA announces the submission deadline of May 13, 2021, for Winter 2021/2022 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 May 13, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

Schedules may be submitted to the Slot Administration Office by email to: [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Al Meilus, Manager, Slot Administration, AJR-G, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591; telephone [phone]; email [e-mail].

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 Northern Winter 2021/2022 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 Northern Winter 2021/2022 scheduling season is from October 31, 2021, through March 26, 2022, in recognition of the IATA winter scheduling period. Notwithstanding that carriers may presently face uncertainty about their operations in light of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), carriers should plan and submit their schedules under the assumption that no further relief will be granted at Level 2 and Level 3 airports during the Winter 2021/2022 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 Winter 2021/2022 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 beyond the relief already provided to date through October 30, 2021.

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 Winter 2021/2022 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. The FAA understands there may be differences in schedule times due to U.S. daylight saving time dates and will accommodate these differences to the extent possible.

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 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.

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.^[5] 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.

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.

Airport-Specific Updates

EWR General Update

As stated in prior notices, the FAA regularly monitors operations and performance metrics at EWR to identify ways to improve operational efficiency and achieve delay reductions in a Level 2 environment. Access to EWR and the New York City area generally remains coveted. Requests for flights at EWR have exceeded the desired scheduling limits in multiple hours. The FAA has regularly indicated that schedule adjustments are advised for requests for new or retimed operations into periods when demand is at or above scheduling limits and worked with carriers to identify alternative times that were available. In some cases, carriers have been able to swap with other carriers for their preferred times if the FAA is unable to offer the requested time. Carriers may continue to seek swaps in order to operate within periods in which operations are at the scheduling limits. However, swaps should be reported to the FAA, as carriers are expected to operate consistent with the runway times on record with the FAA.

For the Winter 2021/2022 season, the desired hourly scheduling limit remains at 79 operations and 43 operations per half-hour.^[6] Based on historical demand and an increase in operations in “shoulder” periods adjacent to the busiest hours before the COVID-19 pandemic, most hours are now at the desired scheduling limits. To help with a balance between arrivals and departures, the desired maximum number of scheduled arrivals or departures, respectively, is 43 in an hour and 24 in a half-hour. This would 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 past practice at EWR, the FAA will accept flights above the limits if the flights were operated, or treated as operated, by the same carrier on a regular basis in the previous corresponding season (i.e., Winter 2020/2021). Certain flights were approved and operated on an ad hoc basis in Winter 2020/2021 as a result of temporary flight reductions and returns to FAA under the usage policy for that scheduling season. Similar flights, if requested for the Winter 2021/2022 scheduling season would be treated as new requests and reviewed in accordance with usual scheduling limits and policies.

Consistent with the WSG, carriers are asked for their voluntary cooperation to adjust schedules to meet the scheduling limits in order to minimize potential congestion and delay. New operations will be offered alternative times unless the period is below the FAA's desired scheduling limits.^[7] Consistent with this approach, the FAA intends to offer alternative times in response to any new flights for the Winter 2021/2022 scheduling season if operations are at or above the scheduling limits. However, the FAA notes that there may be availability for ad hoc passenger and cargo operations due to temporary COVID-19-related service changes, but such availability will depend on the baseline level of planned operations with priority from the prior corresponding season.

EWR Assessment Status

As indicated most recently in the EWR schedule submission notice for the Summer 2021 scheduling season, the FAA is assessing the impacts on performance of peak period reductions and other schedule changes, such as Southwest Airlines' cessation of operations at EWR, as well as the impacts on competition, in close coordination with the Office of the Secretary of Transportation.^[8] This assessment is ongoing; the FAA intends to publish additional information on the outcome of this assessment in the future. The sudden, drastic disruption caused by COVID-19 ^[9] affects the analysis and the relevant long-term effects of operational, performance, and demand-related changes at EWR. COVID-19 continues to impact operations at EWR in 2021. Pending further study, the FAA does not at this time invite replacing or “backfilling” the peak morning and afternoon/evening operations that Southwest Airlines conducted during Winter 2018/2019 and Summer 2019, to the extent the new operations would exceed the current desired scheduling limits.

Construction Updates

Construction projects are upcoming or underway at EWR, JFK, LAX, and ORD, and SFO. For additional information, see https://www.faa.gov/​about/​office_​org/​headquarters_​offices/​ato/​service_​units/​systemops/​perf_​analysis/​sys_​cap_​eval/​.

The construction plans for each of the airports is subject to change. The airport operators regularly meet with the FAA, carriers, and other stakeholders to review construction plans, identify operational or other issues, and develop mitigation strategies. Carriers interested in additional information on construction plans should contact the airport operator to obtain further details or information on stakeholder discussions.

Issued in Washington, DC, on April, 30, 2021.

Virginia T. Boyle,

Vice President, System Operations Services.

Footnotes

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).

5.  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.

6.  83 FR 21335 (May 1, 2018).

7.  See e.g., Notice of Submission Deadline for the Summer 2021 Scheduling Season, 85 FR 65134 at 65136 (Oct. 14, 2020); Notice of Submission Deadline for the Winter 2020/2021 Scheduling Season, 85 FR 30001 at 30003 (May 19, 2020); Notices of Submission Deadline for Newark Liberty International Airport for the Summer 2020 Scheduling Season, 84 FR 52580 at 52581-52582 (Oct. 2, 2019); Notice of Submission Deadline for the Winter 2019/2020 Scheduling Season, 84 FR 18630 at 18632 (May 1, 2019); Notice of Submission Deadline for the Summer 2019 Scheduling Season, 83 FR 49155 at 49156-49157 (Sep. 28, 2018); Notice of Submission Deadline for the Winter 2018/2019 Scheduling Season, 83 FR 21335 at 21337-21338 (May 9, 2018).

8.  See Notice of Submission Deadline for Newark Liberty International Airport for the Summer 2021 Scheduling Season, 85 FR 65134.

9.  For example, the FAA's Operational Network (OPSNET) data shows total operations for April to September 2020 were 73.7% lower than the same period in 2019.