[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 58 (Wednesday, March 25, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16989-16990]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-06316]
[[Page 16989]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
Orders Limiting Operations at John F. Kennedy International
Airport and New York LaGuardia Airport; High Density Traffic Airports
Rule at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
AGENCY: Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA).
ACTION: Notice of opportunity to show cause and request for information
regarding extension of a limited waiver of the minimum slot usage
requirement.
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SUMMARY: The FAA has tentatively determined to extend through October
24, 2020, the coronavirus (COVID-19)-related limited waiver of the
minimum slot usage requirement at John F. Kennedy International Airport
(JFK), New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA), and Ronald Reagan Washington
National Airport (DCA) that the FAA has already made available through
May 31, 2020. Similarly, the FAA has tentatively determined to extend
through October 24, 2020, its coronavirus-related policy for
prioritizing flights canceled at designated International Air Transport
Association (IATA) Level 2 airports in the United States, for purposes
of establishing a carrier's operational baseline in the next
corresponding season. These IATA Level 2 airports include Chicago
O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Newark Liberty International
Airport (EWR), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and San
Francisco International Airport (SFO). These extensions through October
24, 2020, would be on the same terms as the relief that the FAA already
has announced through May 31, 2020. This notice affords interested
persons an opportunity to show cause why the FAA should or should not
finalize this tentative decision to extend relief through October 24,
2020, and to submit any information relevant to making this decision.
The FAA anticipates subsequently providing notice of its final
decision.
DATES: Submit comments on or before March 30, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Submit written views and supporting data by email to the
Slot Administration Office at 7-awa-slotadmin@faa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bonnie Dragotto, Office of the Chief
Counsel, Regulations Division, Federal Aviation Administration, 800
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591; telephone: (202) 267-
3808; email: bonnie.dragotto@faa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In a notice that the FAA issued on March 11, 2020, and published in
the Federal Register on March 16, 2020 (85 FR 15018), the FAA announced
certain relief through May 31, 2020, in light of impacts on air travel
demand related to the outbreak of novel 2019 coronavirus (also known as
``SARS-CoV-2,'' causing the disease COVID-19) (``Coronavirus''). As
announced in that notice, through May 31, 2020, the FAA will waive the
minimum usage requirement as to any slot associated with a scheduled
nonstop flight between JFK, LGA, or DCA, respectively, and other points
that is canceled as a direct result of Coronavirus-related impacts.\1\
In addition, that notice announced that the FAA will prioritize flights
canceled due to Coronavirus at designated IATA Level 2 airports in the
United States--including ORD, EWR, LAX, and SFO--through May 31, 2020,
for purposes of establishing a carrier's operational baseline in the
next corresponding season.\2\ In granting this relief, the FAA asserted
its expectation that foreign slot coordinators would accommodate U.S.
carriers with reciprocal relief. The FAA further stated that it would
continue to monitor the situation and might augment the waiver as
circumstances warrant.
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\1\ Although DCA and LGA are not designated as IATA Level 3
slot-controlled airports given that these airports primarily serve
domestic destinations, FAA limits operations at these airports via
rules at DCA and an Order at LGA that are equivalent to IATA Level
3.
\2\ The FAA notes that a minimum usage requirement does not
apply at designated IATA Level 2 airports in the United States.
Moreover, established procedures under the IATA WSG allow for the
prioritization of such cancelations in subsequent corresponding
seasons consistent with the FAA's policy statement.
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Since the FAA issued that notice on March 11, 2020, the Coronavirus
has continued to cause greater disruption. On March 11, the World
Health Organization (WHO) characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic, as the
rates of infection continued to rise in many locations around the world
and across the United States. On March 13, the President of the United
States proclaimed that the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States
constitutes a national emergency. On March 16, the President and the
White House Coronavirus Task Force announced a program called ``15 Days
to Slow the Spread,'' a nationwide effort to slow the spread of COVID-
19 in the United States through the implementation of social distancing
at all levels of society, including a recommendation to avoid
discretionary travel. On March 19, the Department of State issued a
Global Level 4 Health Advisory--Do Not Travel, advising U.S. citizens
to avoid all international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19.
As of March 20, Coronavirus had been detected in over 150 countries and
every state in the United States. Whereas on March 11 the WHO reported
118,319 confirmed COVID-19 cases globally (including 696 in the United
States), on March 21 the WHO reported 266,073 confirmed COVID-19 cases
globally (including 15,219 in the United States).
Since issuing the March 11, 2020, notice, the FAA continues to
receive cancelation notices at slot-controlled airports in the United
States, which include JFK, LGA, and DCA, as well as U.S. airports
designated as IATA Level 2, for flights to and from areas with
significant Coronavirus outbreaks. U.S. and foreign carriers have
continued to urge the FAA to extend relief through the Summer 2020
scheduling season, which ends on October 24, 2020.
IATA, which asserts that it represents some 290 airlines comprising
82% of global air traffic, stated in a March 3, 2020, press release
that offering relief through the Summer 2020 season ``will mean that
airlines can respond to market conditions with appropriate capacity
levels, avoiding any need to run empty services in order to maintain
slots.'' According to IATA, without certainty through the Summer 2020
season, ``airlines are unable to plan ahead sufficiently to ensure
efficient rostering of crew or deployment of aircraft.''
On March 16, 2020, the FAA received a letter addressed to
responsible slot authorities from leaders of twenty-three airlines
around the world, including United Airlines from the United States,
requesting ``a global waiver from standard slot usage rules through
summer 2020 to obtain flexibility for capacity reductions in light of
diminishing passenger demand, and to help stabilize a very tenuous
operational and commercial environment.'' The letter asserts ``[h]aving
such a waiver in hand will help us plan our operations over the summer
months in a manner to maximize global connectivity and efficiency.''
United Airlines announced on March 17, 2020, that it would implement a
60% schedule reduction for April 2020, including a 42% reduction across
the United States and Canada and an 85% decrease in international
flights. United Airlines followed with an announcement on March 20,
2020, that it is reducing its international schedule by 95% for April
2020.
In a March 19, 2020, letter to the FAA, American Airlines
``strongly requests''
[[Page 16990]]
the FAA to ``issue a full usage waiver for the remainder of the summer
2020 IATA season.'' American Airlines asserts that it ``has taken
unprecedented action to cut our schedules by more than 75%
internationally and 30% domestically in April alone with significantly
more cuts in May and beyond into the spring and summer months.''
Other U.S. airlines also report significant capacity cuts in the
coming months. Delta Air Lines announced on March 10, 2020, that to
align capacity with expected demand, it is reducing system capacity by
15 points versus its plan, with international capacity reduced by 20-
25%, and domestic capacity reduced by 10-15%. JetBlue Airways announced
on March 18, 2020, that it will reduce its capacity by at least 40% in
April and May, and it also expects substantial cuts in June and July.
Southwest Airlines announced on March 20, 2020, that it has implemented
a plan to reduce capacity by at least 20 percent for the period from
April 14 through June 5, 2020, driven by a drop in travel demand due to
the COVID-19 outbreak. On March 18, 2020, Airlines for America, which
describes itself as an advocate for leading U.S. airlines, asserted
that ``cancellations far outpace new bookings for U.S. carriers, planes
are only 20-30% full and new bookings are implying 70-80 percent
declines in traffic even as airlines make dramatic cuts in capacity--
and this is getting worse each day with no end in sight.''
Opportunity To Show Cause
In consideration of the foregoing information, the requests that
the FAA has received, and the evolving situation, the FAA has
tentatively determined to extend through October 24, 2020, the relief
that the FAA has already granted through May 31, 2020, to continue on
the same terms as the FAA announced in granting that relief. If the FAA
extends relief to October 24, 2020, the FAA expects that foreign slot
coordinators will provide reciprocal relief to U.S. carriers. To the
extent that U.S. carriers fly to a foreign carrier's home jurisdiction
and that home jurisdiction does not offer reciprocal relief to U.S.
carriers, the FAA may determine not to grant a waiver to that foreign
carrier. A foreign carrier seeking a waiver may wish to ensure that the
responsible authority of the foreign carrier's home jurisdiction
submits a statement by email to ScheduleFiling@dot.gov confirming
reciprocal treatment of the slot holdings of U.S. carriers.
The Coronavirus continues to present a highly unusual and
unpredictable condition that is beyond the control of carriers.
Passenger demand continues to decrease dramatically as a result of the
Coronavirus. The ultimate duration and severity of Coronavirus impacts
on passenger demand in the United States and internationally remain
unclear. Even after the pandemic is contained, impacts on passenger
demand are likely to continue for some time.
The FAA tentatively has concluded that an extension of relief
through October 24, 2020, is appropriate to provide carriers with
maximum flexibility during this unprecedented situation and to support
the long-term viability of carrier operations at slot-controlled and
IATA Level 2 airports in the United States.\3\ Continuing relief for
this additional period is reasonable to mitigate the impacts on demand
for air travel resulting from the spread of the Coronavirus worldwide.
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\3\ The FAA is responsible to develop plans and policy for the
use of the navigable airspace and assign by regulation or order the
use of the airspace necessary to ensure the safety of aircraft and
the efficient use of airspace. See 49 U.S.C. 40103(b)(1). The FAA
manages slot usage requirements under the authority of 14 CFR 93.227
at DCA and under the authority of Orders at LGA and JFK. See
Operating Limitations at John F. Kennedy International Airport, 83
FR 46865 (Sep. 17, 2018); Operating Limitations at New York
LaGuardia Airport, 83 FR 47065 at 47066 (Sep. 18, 2018).
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The FAA seeks views and information regarding this tentative
decision. Interested persons are invited to show cause why the FAA
should or should not finalize this decision, and to submit any
information relevant to making this decision. Written views and
supporting data may be submitted no later than March 30, 2020, by email
to the Slot Administration Office at 7-awa-slotadmin@faa.gov.
Information submitted to the FAA may be subject to disclosure under the
Freedom of Information Act. The FAA recognizes that commenters may seek
to submit business information that is both customarily and actually
treated as confidential. Persons that submit such confidential business
information should clearly mark the information as ``PROPIN''. The FAA
will take the necessary steps to protect properly designated
information to the extent allowable by law.
After receiving and reviewing comments, the FAA anticipates
subsequently providing notice of its final decision.
Issued in Washington, DC, on March 22, 2020.
Lorelei Peter,
Assistant Chief Counsel for Regulations.
[FR Doc. 2020-06316 Filed 3-23-20; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P