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US cuts minimum New York flights requirements until late 2026

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) agreed Wednesday to extend the cuts in minimum flight requirements for congested New York City Airports until October 2026. The reason given was a significant shortage of air traffic controllers.

If they don't use their slots 80% of time, under minimum flight requirements airlines may lose them. The FAA waiver allows airlines 10% fewer flights. The FAA issued several waivers in the past to address staffing problems at JFK Airport and LaGuardia.

The FAA has said that it will not be issuing any more broad slots waivers, as it continues to work on a long-term solution for the "chronic low level of air traffic controllers fully certified" who oversee New York traffic.

Airlines for America is a trade association that represents American Airlines, United Airlines Delta Air Lines Southwest Airlines. In April, they asked for a further extension until October 2027, and to also cover flights in Newark.

The FAA issued an order in May.

Newark Airport, the main airport serving New York City, has experienced flight disruptions

Following a series major disruptions.

According to the airlines, 75% of the delays that occur in the National Airspace System are caused by delays in NYC Airspace. The group stated that "delays and cancellations within the NYC Airspace have a ripple effect throughout the NAS, so it's important to maintain the health of this part of system."

The FAA has also extended flexibility to affected flights between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport) and New York Airports.

In recent years, a number of near miss incidents have raised concerns about the FAA's staffing levels. Congress has approved $12.5 billion to increase hiring and revamp the system.

The report states that a persistent shortage of flight controllers has caused delays. In addition, many controllers work six-day weekends and mandatory overtime at their facilities. Report

Last month, the FAA found that its

In 2024, the air traffic workforce will have logged 2.2 millions hours of overtime at a cost of $200 million. (Reporting and editing by Chris Reese, Diane Craft and David Shepardson)

(source: Reuters)