[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 184 (Monday, September 24, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54317-54318]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-4711]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Notice of Submission Deadlines for Schedule Information for John 
F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International 
Airport for the Summer 2008 Scheduling Season

AGENCY: Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration 
(FAA).

ACTION: Notice of submission deadline.

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SUMMARY: Under this notice, the FAA announces that New York's John F. 
Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Newark Liberty International 
Airport (EWR) have been designated Level 2 Schedules Facilitated 
Airports for the summer 2008 scheduling season in accordance with the 
International Air Transport Association (IATA) Worldwide Scheduling 
Guidelines. Accordingly, the FAA announces an October 11, 2007, 
deadline for submitting schedule information for all planned flights at 
JFK and EWR between the hours of 6 a.m. and 11 p.m., local time or 1000 
and 0300 UTC. The FAA deadline coincides with the submission deadline 
established by IATA for the Summer 2008 Schedules Conference.
    The U.S. summer scheduling season is from March 9, 2008, through 
November 1, 2008, in recognition of the U.S. daylight saving time 
dates. The FAA understands the IATA summer 2008 season is March 30, 
2008, through October 25, 2008. The FAA will accept schedules that 
coincide with the IATA scheduling season, rather than U.S. daylight 
saving dates, in order to ease the administrative burdens on carriers 
conducting international operations and in order to ensure that FAA has 
the most accurate schedule information.
    The Level 2 designations for JFK and EWR are necessary because of 
increased levels of air traffic operations, congestion and delay at the 
airports and a tangible decrease in operational performance 
(performance data for each airport is provided below). The FAA is 
implementing a number of initiatives for JFK and EWR to improve air 
traffic control (ATC) efficiency and reduce delays at those and other 
airports. For instance, ATC has increased use of a second departure 
runway at JFK when conditions permit. Other measures for both airports 
will improve routing options during periods of adverse weather 
conditions. And, over the next several years, the FAA will redesign 
airspace in the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia areas in order to 
improve efficiency and reduce delays. These near term measures, 
however, are not sufficient to meet the current peak hour operational 
demands at these airports.

John F. Kennedy Airport

    Operations at JFK were previously limited by the FAA under the High 
Density Rule. This rule was eliminated at JFK after January 1, 2007, in 
accordance with 49 U.S.C. 41715(a)(2). The FAA advised IATA and 
carriers that this effectively changed the FAA determination for JFK 
under IATA guidelines to Level 1 as of January 1, 2007. However, the 
FAA now redesignates JFK as Level 2 for the summer 2008 season and 
requests carriers to provide schedule information in accordance with 
this notice.
    JFK is experiencing increased congestion with a corresponding 
decrease in on-time performance. Comparing the period of October 2006 
through July 2007 to the same period in the previous year, the average 
daily operations at JFK increased 23 percent; the average daily 
arrivals with delays greater than one hour increased 114 percent; and 
on-time gate arrivals within 15 minutes of scheduled time decreased 
from 69.7 percent to 61.2 percent. Average taxi-out delay increased 19 
percent from 30 to almost 36 minutes on average. The metrics for the 
months of June and July 2007 show even further deterioration of 
performance. A number of carriers communicated their concerns to the 
FAA about the impact the delayed flights are having on operational 
reliability, flight connections and network planning.
    The FAA intends to work with carriers to review operations, 
particularly during the morning hours of 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 
afternoon and evening hours from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. local time. Capacity 
exists for new operations or retiming of existing flights at many 
periods of the day. The FAA is currently completing a capacity and 
demand assessment of JFK and considering steps to address the timing of 
flights on the airport's operation. This could result in operational 
limits during peak hours and a change of JFK's designation to Level 3.

Newark Liberty International Airport

    EWR has been one of the most consistently delayed airports in the 
National Airspace System (NAS). For example, for the period of October 
2006 through July 2007, EWR had an on-time arrival performance of 60.17 
percent, the worst among the top 35 airports. Therefore, based on the 
airport's performance metrics and the imbalance between ATC capacity 
and demand that is expected to continue in the near term,

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the FAA has decided to designate EWR as an IATA Level 2 Schedules 
Facilitated Airport for the summer 2008 scheduling season. The FAA 
understands EWR is currently Level 2 for certain international 
passenger terminal facilities, and this notice does not replace that 
schedule facilitation process done at the local airport level.
    The FAA intends to work with carriers to review operations, 
particularly during the morning hours of 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 
afternoon and evening hours from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. local time. The FAA 
is considering options to further address congestion and improve 
operational performance at EWR, including the timing of flights at the 
airport, and their impact on the airport's operation.

DATES: Schedules must be submitted no later than October 11, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Schedules may be submitted by mail to Slot Administration 
Office, AGC-240, Office of the Chief Counsel, 800 Independence Ave., 
SW., Washington, DC 20591; facsimile: 202-267-7277; ARINC: DCAYAXD; or 
by e-mail to: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Komal Jain, Regulations Division, 
Office of the Chief Counsel, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone number: 202-
267-3073.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on September 19th, 2007.
James W. Whitlow,
Deputy Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 07-4711 Filed 9-19-07; 2:26 pm]
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