[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 199 (Wednesday, October 14, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65134-65136]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-22756]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Notice of 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 
Summer 2021 Scheduling Season

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

ACTION: Notice of submission deadline.

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SUMMARY: Under this notice, the FAA announces the submission deadline 
of October 15, 2020, for Summer 2021 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).

DATES: Schedules should be submitted by October 15, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Schedules may be submitted to the Slot Administration Office 
by email to: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Al Meilus, Manager, Slot 
Administration, AJR-G, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202) 267-2822; 
email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides routine notice to 
carriers serving capacity-constrained airports in the United States, 
including 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 particular, this notice announces the 
deadline for carriers to submit schedules for the Northern Summer 2021 
scheduling season. The FAA generally strives to maintain consistency in 
setting this deadline with the schedule submission deadline established 
in the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Calendar of 
Coordination Activities. However, in an effort to provide carriers with 
additional time to respond to this notice, the FAA is extending the 
submission deadline by one week from October 8, 2020 to October 15, 
2020. The FAA intends to carry out its schedule review consistent with 
all other deadlines established in the IATA Calendar of Coordination 
Activities.

General Information for All Airports

    The FAA has designated EWR, LAX, ORD, and SFO as IATA Level 2 
airports \1\ subject to a schedule review process premised upon 
voluntary cooperation. The FAA has designated JFK as an IATA Level 3 
airport consistent with the Worldwide Slot Guidelines (WSG).\2\ The FAA 
currently limits scheduled operations at JFK by order that expires on 
October 29, 2022.\3\ The U.S. Summer 2021 scheduling season is from 
March 28, 2021, through October 30, 2021, in recognition of the IATA 
summer scheduling period. Notwithstanding that carriers may presently 
face uncertainty about their operations in light of coronavirus disease 
2019 (COVID-19), carriers should continue preparations for schedule 
facilitation at Level 2 airports and Level 3 slot controls at JFK 
during the Summer 2021 scheduling season, even if the effects of COVID-
19 on airport demand and operations continue and adjustments become 
necessary to respond to changing conditions.\4\ As the industry adapts 
to the changes precipitated by the public health emergency, FAA and the 
Office of the Secretary will continue to monitor developments closely 
and take these changes into consideration. Any possible relief for the 
Summer 2021 scheduling season and any possible action to alter the 
established rules and policies for slot management and schedule 
facilitation in the United States are not within the scope of this 
notice.
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    \1\ These designations remain effective until the FAA announces 
a change in the Federal Register.
    \2\ The FAA generally applies the WSG to the extent there is no 
conflict with U.S. law or regulation. The FAA is reviewing recent 
substantive amendments to the WSG adopted in edition 10. The FAA 
recognizes the WSG has been replaced by the Worldwide Airport Slot 
Guidelines (WASG) edition 1 effective June 1, 2020. While the FAA is 
considering whether to implement certain changes in the United 
States, it will continue to apply WSG edition 9.
    \3\ Operating Limitations at John F. Kennedy International 
Airport, 73 FR 3510 (Jan. 18, 2008), as most recently extended 85 FR 
58258 (Sep. 18, 2020). The slot coordination parameters for JFK are 
set forth in this Order.
    \4\ For additional information on COVID-19 impacts at designated 
IATA Level 2 and 3 airports in the United States and actions taken 
by the FAA to preserve stability through the Summer 2020 scheduling 
season, see Notice of extension of limited waiver of the minimum 
slot usage requirement, 85 FR 63335 (Oct. 7, 2020).
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    The FAA is primarily concerned about scheduled and other regularly 
conducted commercial operations during designated hours, but carriers 
may submit schedule plans for the entire day. The designated hours for 
the Summer 2021 scheduling season are: At EWR and JFK from 0600 to 2300 
Eastern Time (1000 to 0300 UTC), at LAX and SFO from 0600 to 2300 
Pacific Time (1300 to 0600 UTC), and at ORD from 0600 to 2100 Central 
Time (1100 to 0200 UTC). These hours are unchanged from previous 
scheduling seasons.
    Carriers should submit schedule information in sufficient detail 
including, at minimum, the marketing or operating carrier, flight 
number, scheduled time of operation, frequency, aircraft equipment, and 
effective dates. IATA standard schedule information format and data 
elements for communications at Level 2 and Level 3 airports in the IATA 
Standard

[[Page 65135]]

Schedules Information Manual (SSIM) Chapter 6 may be used. The WSG 
provides additional information on schedule submissions at Level 2 and 
Level 3 airports. Some carriers at JFK manage and track slots through 
FAA-assigned Slot ID numbers corresponding to an arrival or departure 
slot in a particular half-hour on a particular day of week and date. 
The FAA has recently initiated a similar voluntary process for tracking 
schedules at EWR with Reference IDs, and certain carriers are managing 
their schedules accordingly. These are primarily U.S. and Canadian 
carriers that have the highest frequencies and considerable schedule 
changes throughout the season and can benefit from a simplified 
exchange of information not dependent on full flight details. Carriers 
are encouraged to submit schedule requests at those airports using Slot 
or Reference IDs.
    As stated in the WSG, schedule facilitation at a Level 2 airport is 
based on the following: (1) Schedule adjustments are mutually agreed 
upon between the airlines and the facilitator; (2) the intent is to 
avoid exceeding the airport's coordination parameters; (3) the concepts 
of historic precedence and series of slots do not apply at Level 2 
airports; although WSG recommends giving priority to approved services 
that plan to operate unchanged from the previous equivalent season at 
Level 2 airports, and (4) the facilitator should adjust the smallest 
number of flights by the least amount of time necessary to avoid 
exceeding the airport's coordination parameters. Consistent with the 
WSG, the success of Level 2 in the United States depends on the 
voluntary cooperation of all carriers.
    The FAA considers several factors and priorities as it reviews 
schedule and slot requests at Level 2 and Level 3 airports, which are 
consistent with the WSG, including--historic slots or services from the 
previous equivalent season over new demand for the same timings, 
services that are unchanged over services that plan to change time or 
other capacity relevant parameters, introduction of year-round 
services, effective period of operation, regularly planned operations 
over ad hoc operations, and other operational factors that may limit a 
carrier's timing flexibility. In addition to applying these priorities 
from the WSG, the U.S. Government has adopted a number of measures and 
procedures to promote competition and new entry at U.S. slot-controlled 
and schedule-facilitated airports.
    At Level 2 airports, the FAA seeks to maintain close communications 
with carriers and terminal schedule facilitators on potential runway 
schedule issues or terminal and gate issues that may affect the runway 
times. As explained in prior notices, the FAA also seeks to reduce the 
time that carriers consider proposed offers on schedules. To allow the 
FAA to make informed decisions at airports where operations in some 
hours are at or near the desired scheduling limits, the FAA expects it 
will substantially complete the review process on initial submissions 
each scheduling season within 30 days of the end of the Slot 
Conference. After this time, the agency confirms the acceptance of 
proposed offers or informs carriers of available alternative times, as 
applicable.
    Slot management in the United States differs in some respect from 
procedures in other countries. In the United States, the FAA is 
responsible for facilitation and coordination of runway access for 
takeoffs and landings at Level 2 and Level 3 airports; however, the 
airport authority or its designee is responsible for facilitation and 
coordination of terminal/gate/airport facility access. The process with 
the individual airports for terminal access and other airport services 
is separate from, and in addition to, the FAA schedule review based on 
runway capacity.
    Generally, the FAA uses average hourly runway capacity throughput 
for airports and performance metrics in conducting its schedule review 
at Level 2 airports and determining the scheduling limits at Level 3 
airports included in FAA rules or orders.\5\ The FAA also considers 
other factors that can affect operations, such as capacity changes due 
to runway, taxiway, or other airport construction, air traffic control 
procedural changes, airport surface operations, and historical or 
projected flight delays and congestion.
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    \5\ The FAA typically determines an airport's average adjusted 
runway capacity or typical throughput for Level 2 airports by 
reviewing hourly data on the arrival and departure rates that air 
traffic control indicates could be accepted for that hour, commonly 
known as ``called'' rates. The FAA also reviews the actual number of 
arrivals and departures that operated in the same hour. Generally, 
the FAA uses the higher of the two numbers, called or actual, for 
identifying trends and schedule review purposes. Some dates are 
excluded from analysis, such as during periods when extended airport 
closures or construction could affect capacity.
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    Finally, the FAA notes that the schedule information submitted by 
carriers to the FAA may be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA). The WSG also provides for release of 
information at certain stages of slot coordination and schedule 
facilitation. In general, once it acts on a schedule submission or slot 
request, the FAA may release information on slot allocation or similar 
slot transactions or schedule information reviewed as part of the 
schedule facilitation process. The FAA does not expect that practice to 
change and most slot and schedule information would not be exempt from 
release under FOIA. The FAA recognizes that some carriers may submit 
information on schedule plans that is both customarily and actually 
treated as private. Carriers that submit such confidential schedule 
information should clearly mark the information, or any relevant 
portions thereof, as proprietary information (``PROPIN''). The FAA will 
take the necessary steps to protect properly designated information to 
the extent allowable by law.

Airport-Specific Updates

EWR General Update

    As stated in prior notices, the FAA regularly monitors operations 
and performance metrics at EWR to identify ways to improve operational 
efficiency and achieve delay reductions in a Level 2 environment. 
Access to EWR and the New York City area generally remains coveted. 
Requests for flights at EWR have exceeded the desired scheduling limits 
in multiple hours. The FAA has regularly indicated that schedule 
adjustments are advised for requests for new or retimed operations into 
periods when demand is at or above scheduling limits and worked with 
carriers to identify alternative times that were available. In some 
cases, carriers have been able to swap with other carriers for their 
preferred times if the FAA is unable to offer the requested time. 
Carriers may continue to seek swaps in order to operate within periods 
in which operations are at the scheduling limits. However, swaps should 
be reported to the FAA, as carriers are expected to operate consistent 
with the runway times on record with the FAA.
    For the Summer 2021 season, the desired hourly scheduling limit 
remains at 79 operations and 43 operations per half-hour.\6\ Based on 
historical demand and an increase in operations in ``shoulder'' periods 
adjacent to the busiest hours before the COVID-19 public health 
emergency, most hours are now at the desired scheduling limits. To help 
with a balance between arrivals and departures, the desired maximum 
number of scheduled arrivals or departures, respectively, is 43 in an 
hour and 24 in a half-hour. This would allow some higher levels of 
operations in certain periods (not to exceed the

[[Page 65136]]

hourly limits) and some recovery from lower demand in adjacent periods. 
Consistent with past practice at EWR, the FAA will accept flights above 
the limits if the flights were operated, or treated as operated, by the 
same carrier on a regular basis in the previous corresponding season 
(i.e., Summer 2020).
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    \6\ 83 FR 21335 (May 1, 2018).
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    Consistent with the WSG, carriers are asked for their voluntary 
cooperation to adjust schedules to meet the scheduling limits in order 
to minimize potential congestion and delay. New operations will be 
offered alternative times unless the period is below the FAA's desired 
scheduling limits.\7\ Consistent with this approach, the FAA intends to 
offer alternative times in response to any new flights for the Summer 
2021 scheduling season if operations are at or above the applicable 
scheduling limits. However, the FAA notes that there may be 
availability for ad hoc passenger and cargo operations due to temporary 
COVID-19-related service changes.
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    \7\ See e.g., Notice of Submission Deadline for the Winter 2019/
2020 Scheduling Season, 84 FR 18630 at 18632 (May 1, 2019); Notice 
of Submission Deadline for the Summer 2019 Scheduling Season, 83 FR 
49155at 49156-49157 (Sep. 28, 2018); Notice of Submission Deadline 
for the Winter 2018/2019 Scheduling Season, 83 FR 21335 at 21337-
21338 (May 9, 2018); Notices of Submission Deadline for Newark 
Liberty International Airport for the Summer 2020 Scheduling Season, 
84 FR 52580 at 52581-52582 (Oct. 2, 2019); Notice of Submission 
Deadline for the Winter 2020/2021 Scheduling Season, 85 FR 30001 at 
30003 (May 19, 2020).
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EWR Assessment Status

    As indicated in the EWR schedule submission notice for the Summer 
2020 scheduling season, the FAA is assessing the impacts on performance 
of peak period reductions and other schedule changes, such as Southwest 
Airlines' cessation of operations at EWR, as well as the impacts on 
competition, in close coordination with the Office of the Secretary of 
Transportation.\8\ This assessment is ongoing; the FAA intends to 
publish additional information on the outcome of this assessment in the 
future. The sudden, drastic disruption caused by COVID-19 \9\ affects 
the analysis and the relevant long-term effects of operational, 
performance, and demand-related changes at EWR. Pending further study, 
the FAA does not at this time invite replacing or ``backfilling'' the 
peak morning and afternoon/evening operations that Southwest Airlines 
conducted during Winter 2018/2019 and Summer 2019, to the extent the 
new operations would exceed the current desired scheduling limits. 
There may be availability for ad hoc passenger and cargo operations due 
to temporary COVID-19-related service changes.
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    \8\ See Notice of Submission Deadline for Newark Liberty 
International Airport for the Summer 2020 Scheduling Season, 84 FR 
at 52582.
    \9\ For example, the FAA's Operational Network (OPSNET) data 
shows total operations for April to September 2020 were 73.7% lower 
than the same period in 2019.
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Construction Updates

    The FAA is aware of preliminary plans by the Port Authority of New 
York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) to reconstruct Runway 4R/22L at EWR. The 
FAA is closely monitoring the scope and timing of this project 
currently expected to start in Spring 2021 along with the impacts of 
other ongoing terminal and taxiway construction. The FAA plans to work 
with the PANYNJ and carriers to assess operational impacts and 
potential changes in delays and to develop mitigation strategies, as 
appropriate. In addition, construction projects are upcoming or 
underway at JFK, LAX, and ORD. For additional information, see https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/systemops/perf_analysis/sys_cap_eval/.
    The construction plans for each of the airports is subject to 
change. The airport operators regularly meet with the FAA, airlines, 
and other stakeholders to review construction plans, identify 
operational or other issues, and develop mitigation strategies. 
Carriers interested in additional information on construction plans 
should contact the airport operator to obtain further details or 
information on stakeholder discussions.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on October 8, 2020.
Virginia T. Boyle,
Acting Vice President, System Operations Services.
[FR Doc. 2020-22756 Filed 10-9-20; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P