By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Friday said it will extend 10% flight cuts for another year at Chicago O’Hare to prevent delays and address concerns about congestion at the busy United Airlines and American Airlines hub.
The agency in April said it would limit O’Hare to 2,708 arrivals and departures a day from May 17 through October 24, forcing the two major carriers to scale back plans, effectively holding operations near last year’s levels to avoid a repeat of widespread delays. The FAA said on Friday that the restrictions will now last until the end of October 2027.
Airlines had planned to fly 3,080 daily operations this summer, about 15% higher than last year.
The move shows that the Trump administration is taking a hard line in the capacity race between the two carriers at the busy Midwest city, underscoring the limits of growth at airports facing infrastructure constraints.
United and American have both been expanding in Chicago as they compete for market share in one of the country’s most important hubs.
Despite the cuts, O’Hare has still suffered significant delays in recent weeks because of runway construction and weather issues.
The FAA earlier said O’Hare’s overscheduling reflected competitive scheduling dynamics between the airport’s two largest carriers, and rejected calls to use newer summer 2026 schedules as the baseline, saying that could encourage airlines to file unrealistic schedules to improve their negotiating posture.
Last summer’s performance made the risks evident. Only about 56% of departures and 58% of arrivals operated on time as congestion and construction slowed traffic.
The restrictions were initially billed as a temporary measure tied to construction and were to expire at the end of the summer travel season.
Both airlines praised the action. American said it was “a prudent decision that will help maintain operational stability, improve reliability, reduce delays, and support a more predictable travel experience.”
United said the order would support O’Hare’s reliability, adding that as construction project progresses and the airport’s capacity increases, it was “looking forward to further growth at our hometown hub.”
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Franklin Paul, Aurora Ellis and David Gaffen)
Comments