Washington, September 7 (BUS) – United Airlines said it plans to end service in October for New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport if the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) does not grant the air carrier additional flights.
United CEO Scott Kirby wrote to Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen last week urging him to increase capacity at JFK, according to a Tuesday email from the airline to employees seen by Reuters.
United fly only twice a day to San Francisco and Los Angeles from JFK, the New York area’s busiest, after resuming service in 2021.
“If we are unable to obtain additional provisions for several seasons, we will need to suspend service at JFK, effective the end of October,” the United email said.
The FAA said in a statement Tuesday that it “must take into account airspace capacity and runway capacity to assess how changes will affect flights at nearby airports. Any additional slots at JFK will follow the FAA’s well-established process for awarding equitably and increasing competition.” .
United said it was working to pursue additional slots – takeoff and landing licenses – through the FAA and the JFK market “so we can grow to be more competitive”.
Without permanent lead times, it said it could not serve JFK “effectively compared to the larger schedules and more attractive flight times that our competitors fly” such as JetBlue Airways and American Airlines, according to Reuters.
In 2015 United entered into a long-term deal to lease 24 locations year-round at JFK Airport to Delta Air Lines as it terminated JFK’s service to focus at its nearby hub in Newark in northern New Jersey.
United argues that there is room for growth at JFK, the 13th-busiest airport in the United States, because since 2008 the FAA and the Port Authority have made significant investments in infrastructure including “runway expansion, construction of multi-entry runways, and construction of spurs.” high speed”.
In June, the FAA granted United’s request to cut about 50 daily summer flights from its Newark airport hub to tackle congestion, which is 12% of United’s 425 daily flights in Newark. United is Newark’s dominant carrier, operating 69% of flights.