Summary

• The FAA has requested airlines to submit their slot and schedule requests for JFK, EWR, ORD, LAX and SFO for the upcoming IATA summer 2025 season.
• However, the FAA has stated that it will maintain the operating limit of 77 airlines per hour at EEA.
• Preliminary data has shown that airlines should add 150 additional weekly flights at EEA in June 2025 compared to June 2024.

In a document calling on airlines to submit their summer 2025 flight schedules to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also explained that it would maintain current capacity limits. Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) .

According to the U.S. Federal Register, the FAA was scheduled to release the document on August 23.

Capacity-controlled airports in the USA

In relation to the document, the FAA explained that it considers New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to be IATA Level 3 airport according to the Worldwide Slot Guidelines (WSG).

Other Level 3 airports in the USA are LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).

The U.S. regulator has restricted planned operations at JFK through an order that expires on October 24, 2026. The order was originally issued in January 2008 and extended in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022.

As a result, flight operations at JFK were limited to 81 scheduled arrivals and departures during the slot-controlled hours between 6:00 a.m. and 10:59 p.m. local time (UTC-4).

The FAA has designated Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), EWR, as Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) as IATA Level 2 airports.

For this reason, the flight schedules of these airports have been subject to a review process based on the voluntary cooperation of the airlines operating at EWR, ORD, LAX and SFO airports.

The upcoming IATA summer season begins on March 30, 2025 and ends on October 25, 2025, the FAA said.

Submitting capacity plans to the FAA

Thus, the FAA Airlines were asked to submit their capacity plans for operating the four airports. The regulator expressed concerns about certain opening hours of the four airports.

“Airlines should provide their schedule information in sufficient detail, indicating at least the selling or operating airline, flight number, planned operating time, frequency, aircraft equipment and validity dates.”

The FAA noted that the schedule relief at Level 2 airports under the WSG was based on mutually agreed schedule adjustments, avoiding exceeding airport coordination parameters, recommended priority for historical schedules/timings, and the goal of adjusting the fewest number of flights for the shortest amount of time possible to avoid exceeding airport capacity.

According to the regulator, the following factors are taken into account when examining schedule and/or slot requests:

• Historical slots/services from previous seasons
• Unchanged services
• Year-round itineraries
• Operating time
• Planned flights via ad hoc operations
• Other factors that may limit an airline’s timing flexibility.

The FAA noted that while it is responsible for flight schedules and time slots, the respective authorities or their designees are responsible for facilitating and coordinating access to terminals, gates and airport facilities.

“Finally, the FAA notes that flight schedule information submitted by airlines to the FAA may be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).”

The continuing borders of the EEA

The US government agency stated that the voluntary and targeted hourly schedule limitation at EEA will remain at 77 flights per hour during the 2025 IATA summer season.

The targeted maximum number of scheduled arrivals and departures was now 41.

“These targets are intended to allow for slightly higher levels of operation at certain times (without exceeding the hourly limits) and some recovery from lower demand in adjacent periods.”

However, the FAA added that it would accept flights above these limits provided those routes had already been operated in the corresponding previous season and were consistent with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) reallocation of runway times for 16 peak seasons.

The time slots were changed after Southwest Airlines left the EEA. The US Department of Transportation wanted to allocate these slots to low-cost or ultra-low-cost airlines. .

Nevertheless, the FAA announced that it would only approve applications for new flights if they were within the target limits. It expected the airlines to be willing to cooperate.

“Airlines are reminded that FAA approval of runway times is independent of the approval process for gates or other airport infrastructure, and both are critical to the success of Level 2 at EEA.”

Since the end of the pandemic, EWR capacity has been limited because the FAA has granted slot exemptions to airlines operating at New York-area airports, including JFK, EWR and LGA.

Since the pandemic, congestion problems have worsened at all three airports as air traffic controllers retired and the pandemic delayed training of new staff to work in the control towers.

For this reason, the FAA has sought measures to alleviate congestion and delays at New York’s three airports, including reducing hourly operations at EWR to 77 flights.

Another measure was the transfer of control of EEA airspace to nearby Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The move was completed on July 28, with some airlines, including JetBlue warns of possible delays shortly after the changeover.

The FAA also indicated that it was aware of the plans to build the runway at EWR in 2025. It is currently reviewing all potential impacts and will issue a separate policy paper to address any concerns about the impacts of the construction plans.

Preliminary data from aviation analytics firm Cirium showed that airlines have planned 150 additional weekly flights in June 2025, resulting in 4,325 additional seats per week compared to the same month in 2024.

However, the dates may change as airlines continue to adjust their flight schedules in the coming months.