EXTENSION OF FAA ORDER LIMITING OPERATIONS AT JFK
October 12, 2020
The FAA has extended the Order limiting operations to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), maintaining the current slot administration rules. In January 2008, the FAA issued its first Order establishing the current slot administration rules at JFK. This Order was subsequently extended on October 7, 2009, April 4, 2011, May 14, 2013, March 26, 2014, May 24, 2016, as corrected June 21, 2016, and on September 17, 2018. The current order took effect on September 18, 2020, and will extend the rules until October 29, 2022.
The Order maintains the rules that are currently in effect:
- The current hourly limits of 81 scheduled operations at JFK during the peak period (6:00am to 10:59pm);
- The 80 percent minimum usage requirement for carriers holding slot times;
- The rules for withdrawing slots for FAA operational reasons;
- Procedures to allocate withdrawn, surrendered, or unallocated slots; and
- Rules for the trade and lease of slots for consideration.
Also, while the Order establishes the FAA’s rules governing the slot administration at JFK, the FAA still uses the International Air Transport Association Worldwide Slot Guidelines (IATA WSG) to inform its decisions, such as new entrant priority. However, while IATA recently instituted its newly created Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines (WASG), the FAA continues to apply version 9 of the IATA WSG (Jan. 1, 2019), until it has completed its review of the WASG.
Additionally, on September 11, 2020, in an Order available here, the FAA proposed to extend the COVID-19 related limited waiver of the minimum slot usage requirement at JFK, and other slot controlled airports, through March 27, 2021, with additional conditions. The FAA had already made this waiver available through October 24, 2020. The FAA also proposed to extend, through December 31, 2020, its COVID-19-related policy for prioritizing flights canceled at designated International Air Transport Association Level 2 airports in the United States, for purposes of establishing a carrier’s operational baseline in the initial months of the next corresponding season. The FAA will provide notice of its final decision in the near future.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6622); Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6665), or Andy Orr (aorr@eckertsemans.com or 202-659-6625).
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