[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 107 (Friday, June 5, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27059-27060]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-13192]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

[Docket No. FAA-2007-29320]


Operating Limitations at John F. Kennedy International Airport

ACTION: Notice of order to show cause and request for information.

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SUMMARY: The FAA is issuing an order to show cause, which solicits the 
views of interested persons on the FAA's tentative determination to 
extend through October 30, 2010, the January 15, 2008 order limiting 
the number of scheduled aircraft arrivals at John F. Kennedy 
International Airport during peak operating hours. The text of the 
order to show cause is set forth in this notice.

DATES: Any written information that responds to the FAA's order to show 
cause must be submitted by June 19, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written information, identified by docket 
number FAA-2007-29320, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://regulations.gov 
and follow the online instructions for sending your comments 
electronically.
     Mail: Send comments by mail to Docket Operations, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, M-30, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001. Persons wishing to receive 
confirmation of receipt of their written submission should include a 
self-addressed stamped postcard.
     Hand Delivery: Deliver comments to Docket Operations in 
Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the West Building at 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Facsimile: Fax comments to the docket operations personnel 
at 202-493-2251.
    Privacy: We will post all comments that we receive, without change, 
at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information that 
you provide. Using the search function of the docket Web site, anyone 
can find and read the electronic form of all comments in any of our 
dockets, including the name of the individual sending the comment or 
signing the comment on behalf of an association, business, labor union, 
or other entity or organization. You may review the DOT's complete 
Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register at 65 FR 19477-78 (April 
11, 2000), or you may find it at http://docketsinfo.dot.gov.
    Reviewing the docket: To read background documents or comments 
received, go to http://www.regulations.gov at any time and follow the 
online instructions for accessing the docket; or go to Docket 
Operations in Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the West Building at 
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James W. Tegtmeier, Associate Chief 
Counsel for the Air Traffic Organization; telephone--(202) 267-8323; e-
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Order To Show Cause

    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has tentatively 
determined that it will extend through October 30, 2010, the FAA's 
January 15, 2008 order limiting scheduled operations at John F. Kennedy 
International Airport (JFK), as amended (January 2008 order).\1\ This 
order to show cause invites air carriers and other interested persons 
to submit comments in Docket FAA-2007-29320 on this proposal to extend 
the duration of the January 2008 order.\2\
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    \1\ Order Limiting Scheduled Operations at John F. Kennedy 
International Airport, 73 FR 3510 (Jan. 18, 2008); 73 FR 8737 (Feb. 
14, 2008) (amendment to order).
    \2\ The FAA is separately accepting comments on a proposal to 
extend the May 15, 2008, order limiting scheduled operations at 
Newark Liberty International Airport (Newark). The public may file 
or review documents related to the Newark order in Docket FAA-2008-
0221.
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    The January 2008 order followed a period during which JFK operated 
without any regulatory constraint on the number of aircraft operations, 
and JFK experienced significant congestion-related delay. As a result 
of these delays, the FAA invited all scheduled air carriers to a 
scheduling reduction meeting to discuss overscheduling at the airport, 
voluntary schedule reductions, and retiming flights to less congested 
periods.\3\ The scheduling reduction meeting and subsequent 
negotiations led the FAA to issue the January 2008 order, which limited 
the number of scheduled operations conducted by U.S. and Canadian air 
carriers at JFK and recognized the approved operations of other foreign 
air carriers during peak operating hours. The order took effect March 
30, 2008, and in the absence of an extension, it will expire on October 
24, 2009.
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    \3\ The FAA's authority to convene such scheduling reduction 
meetings is set forth at 49 U.S.C. 41722.
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    The FAA established the order's October 2009 expiration date to 
permit time to promulgate a final rule that would control congestion at 
JFK, and the FAA adopted a final rule to manage congestion at JFK that 
would have continued operational limits at the airport beyond October 
2009. 73 FR 60544 (Oct. 10, 2008). However, the rule was stayed by the 
U.S. Court of Appeals

[[Page 27060]]

for the District of Columbia Circuit prior to the rule's December 9, 
2008 effective date. The FAA is currently soliciting comments on a 
proposal to rescind the final rule. 74 FR 22714 (May 14, 2009). As a 
result of the FAA's reconsideration of the rule, the court is holding 
in abeyance the briefing schedule in the rule's associated litigation.
    In light of the events that have transpired since the January 2008 
order took effect, it is now unlikely that the FAA will have an 
effective final rule on the January 2008 order's original expiration 
date. In the absence of the FAA's extension of the order, the FAA 
anticipates a return of the congestion-related delays that precipitated 
the voluntary schedule reductions and adjustments reflected in the 
January 2008 order. The hourly capacity at JFK has not increased 
significantly since the order took effect last spring. Because the 
demand for operations at New York-area airports remains high, the FAA 
has determined that an extension of the January 2008 order appears to 
be appropriate while the FAA identifies the appropriate long-term 
solution to congestion at JFK.
    Order to Show Cause: To prevent a recurrence of overscheduling at 
JFK during the interim between the expiration of the January 2008 order 
on October 24, 2009, and the effective date of a replacement rule, the 
FAA tentatively intends to extend the January 2008 order. The limit on 
scheduled operations that is embodied in the order reflects the FAA's 
agreements with U.S. and foreign air carriers. As a result, maintaining 
the order for an additional, finite period constitutes a reasonable 
approach to preventing unacceptable congestion and delays at JFK until 
a long-term measure is implemented. The January 2008 order, as 
extended, would expire on October 30, 2010.
    Accordingly, the FAA directs all interested persons to show cause 
why the FAA should not make final its tentative findings and tentative 
decision to extend the January 2008 order through October 30, 2010, by 
filing their written views in Docket FAA-2007-29320. The FAA does not 
intend this request for the views of interested persons to address any 
issues related to the existing final rule or any future congestion 
management rule. Therefore, any submission to the current docket should 
be limited to the proposed extension of the January 2008 order.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 29, 2009.
Rebecca MacPherson,
Assistant Chief Counsel for Regulations.
[FR Doc. E9-13192 Filed 6-4-09; 8:45 am]
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