[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 91 (Wednesday, May 11, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29323-29324]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-11116]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Submission Deadline for Schedule Information for Chicago O'Hare 
International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Los 
Angeles International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, 
and San Francisco International Airport for the Winter 2016 Scheduling 
Season

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

ACTION: Notice, Schedule submission deadline.

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SUMMARY: The FAA announces the submission deadline of May 19, 2016, for 
winter 2016 flight schedules at Chicago O'Hare International Airport 
(ORD), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Los Angeles 
International Airport (LAX), Newark Liberty International Airport 
(EWR), and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in accordance with 
the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Worldwide Slot 
Guidelines (WSG) and FAA airport level designations. The deadline 
coincides with the schedule submission deadline for the IATA Slot 
Conference for the winter 2016 scheduling season.

DATES: Schedules must be submitted no later than May 19, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Schedules may be submitted by mail to the Slot 
Administration Office, AGC-200, Office of the Chief Counsel, 800 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591; or by email to: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Pfingstler, System Operations 
Services, Air Traffic Organization, Federal Aviation Administration, 
600 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone number: 
202-267-6462; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA has designated EWR, LAX, ORD, and 
SFO as IATA Level 2, schedule facilitated airports.\1\ JFK is 
designated as an IATA Level 3, slot controlled airport.\2\ At the Level 
2 airports, proposed schedules are reviewed by the FAA to address 
significant, potential congestion before schedules are final. A runway 
slot is required from the FAA at JFK, a Level 3 airport, before a 
carrier operates during the slot controlled hours.
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    \1\ The FAA's designation of EWR as Level 2 takes effect on 
October 30, 2016. 81 FR 19861 (Apr. 6, 2016). Through the Summer 
2016 scheduling season, the FAA has designated EWR as Level 3 by 
Order, Operating Limitations at Newark Liberty International 
Airport, 73 FR 29550 (May 21, 2008) as amended 79 FR 16857 (March 
26, 2014).
    \2\ The FAA limits flights at JFK during peak hours by Order, 
Operating Limitations at John F. Kennedy International Airport, 73 
FR 3510 (Jan. 18, 2008) as amended. The FAA intends to extend the 
effective date of the Order to October 27, 2018. The extension will 
be published in a separate notice in the Federal Register.
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    The FAA is primarily concerned about scheduled and other regularly 
conducted commercial operations during peak hours, but carriers may 
submit schedule plans for the entire day. At ORD, the peak hours are 
0700 to 2100 Central Time (1300 to 0300 UTC), at LAX and SFO from 0600 
to 2300 Pacific Time (1400 to 0700 UTC), and at EWR and JFK from 0600 
to 2300 Eastern Time (1100 to 0400 UTC). The FAA prefers schedule 
messages with the format and data elements in IATA Standard Schedules 
Information Manual (SSIM), Chapter 6, as recommended in the WSG. The 
FAA will also accept other mutually agreed schedule information 
formats; however, carriers should submit schedule information in 
sufficient detail including, at minimum, the operating carrier, flight 
number, scheduled time of operation, frequency, and effective dates.
    The winter scheduling season is from October 30, 2016, through 
March 25, 2017, consistent with the IATA northern winter season. The 
FAA understands there may be differences in schedule times due to U.S. 
daylight saving time dates and will accommodate these differences to 
the extent possible.
    Carriers operating at JFK or LAX should consider the potential 
impacts of runway construction projects as they develop schedules, 
block times and other factors. The FAA has been working with the 
airport operators, airlines, and other stakeholders to develop plans to 
utilize available capacity and mitigate delays during construction.
    JFK will have construction in 2017 on Runway 4R/22L. The Port 
Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), the airport operator, is 
currently considering the scope and staging plans for rehabilitation of 
the runway and expects to soon finalize plans. Depending on the final 
construction schedule, the runway may be closed beginning approximately 
February 27. The closure and other construction impacts could affect 
operations during the last few weeks of the winter 2016 scheduling 
season and into the summer 2017 and winter 2017 scheduling seasons.
    LAX will undergo construction on Runway 7L/25R for runway safety 
areas and rehabilitation beginning in October 2016. Los Angeles World 
Airports (LAWA), the airport operator, expects to shorten the runway in 
October for approximately 3.5 months followed by a four month closure 
from January to May 2017.
    On April 6, the FAA announced in the Federal Register (81 FR 19861) 
that the EWR airport level designation will change from Level 3 to 
Level 2 effective with the winter 2016 scheduling season. Although 
there is available runway capacity throughout the day, the FAA strongly 
encourages carriers to propose reasonable schedules, recognizing there 
is limited runway and airport capacity available for new flights or 
existing flights retimed to certain hours. Carriers will be asked to 
consider alternative schedule times if proposed demand exceeds 
capacity, which is likely to occur during the busiest early morning, 
late afternoon, and evening hours.
    The PANYNJ is considering the process for reviewing EWR gate and 
terminal availability. This is in addition to its previously 
established review under the IATA WSG process for Terminal B 
international passenger flights. The FAA expects to work with the 
PANYNJ as it considers gate and terminal availability and how that 
might impact the FAA's review of schedules for runway availability. 
Carriers should submit information directly to the PANYNJ for airport 
terminal or gate issues.
    The FAA reviewed the historical airport runway capacity levels over 
several years of operations including hourly data for each weekday. 
This analysis considered the actual air traffic control (ATC) 
established arrival and departure rates, the number of actual 
operations in an hour if it exceeded the projected ATC rate for that 
particular hour, runway configurations, weather, aircraft fleet mix, 
and other operating conditions. For the winter months, the data show 
the average hourly runway adjusted capacity for the previous similar 
winter seasons is approximately 79 total operations. The limit FAA 
established in the EWR Order in 2007, which was derived using peak 
summer

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data, was intended to prevent delays from getting worse than 2007 
levels. Although the adjusted capacity for winter 2016 is below the 
previously established limit it is reflective of recent operational 
data in the similar previous season and would allow the FAA to approve 
additional operations over the number operated in winter 2015.
    The FAA will use the following EWR capacities for scheduled flights 
during the winter 2016 season, reflecting average airport runway 
statistics during the recent winter scheduling seasons.\3\ The limits 
for purposes of Level 2 review are 79 scheduled operations per hour, 43 
in a half-hour, 79 in consecutive half-hours, and 231 in rolling three-
hour periods. The FAA believes that a transition from Level 3 to Level 
2 should consider the need for air traffic control facilities and the 
airport terminal and gate infrastructure to adapt to the expected 
increase in operations. The three hour limitation will allow a higher 
number of flights in some hours while also allowing for system 
recovery. In reviewing proposed schedules, the FAA will also consider 
the distribution of scheduled arrivals and departures within a half-
hour or hour and whether there is significant peaking due to the 
distribution of flights within the period. The FAA may seek adjustments 
to proposed schedules to address congestion issues.
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    \3\ Unscheduled flights are not included in the FAA Level 2 
schedule review process or hourly scheduling limits. Unscheduled 
flights include general aviation, business aviation, military, 
public aircraft, ferry and positioning flights, and ad hoc charter 
operations. Regularly conducted commercial services, including 
public charters, are considered scheduled operations for the 
purposes of FAA's Level 2 review.
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    As it has in prior scheduling seasons, the FAA will use the average 
hourly runway capacities at LAX, ORD, and SFO. The FAA may include 
particular emphasis or review for time periods with current or 
projected operational impacts and discuss the reasons for any proposed 
schedule adjustments directly with affected carriers. LAX capacity 
estimates for the runway construction phases in later 2016 and 2017 
have been presented to carriers during LAX construction meetings. These 
rates have not been finalized and will be reviewed with carriers on a 
local level during upcoming meetings.
    The FAA intends to deny approval for carrier schedules that exceed 
capacity with limited exceptions. These exceptions may include flights 
operated only a relatively short time period in the prior season, ad 
hoc or limited term cargo flights such as those operated in past years 
prior to the Christmas holidays, and flights to meet high demand such 
as Thanksgiving, Christmas, or similar periods. The FAA will primarily 
review schedules for runway capacity on a half-hourly basis, allowing 
flexibility for carrier schedules within those windows without the need 
for additional FAA schedule review.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 6, 2016.
Daniel E. Smiley,
Vice President, System Operations Services.
[FR Doc. 2016-11116 Filed 5-10-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P