FAA To Reconvene Thursday to Push for 2,608 Daily Flight Cap at Chicago O'Hare

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration said on Monday it will reconvene a meeting with airlines on Thursday to press ahead with plans to reduce summer flight schedules at Chicago O'Hare International Airport.

The FAA is proposing a cap of 2,608 daily flights for the summer season, down from the 2,800-per-day limit it floated last month. That is well below the roughly 3,080 daily departures airlines currently have scheduled for this summer. The agency has warned that failing to cut schedules could produce major disruptions to operations and travelers.

Regulators' push to trim schedules follows capacity expansions by O'Hare's two largest carriers, United Airlines and American Airlines, as they compete for dominance at the hub. United plans to operate about 780 daily flights from O'Hare this month, up from an average of 541 per day a year earlier. American plans to increase daily departures from 484 last summer to about 526 this summer, having added roughly 100 daily departures for spring-break travel.

The FAA initially convened a session to consider schedule cuts on March 4 but adjourned it. On Monday the agency said it now seeks about a 400-flight reduction from carriers' planned summer schedules and intends to apply cuts proportionally — based on each airline's activity last summer — so the "burden of delay reduction is shared across users without picking 'winners or losers.'"

"[T]he burden of delay reduction is shared across users without picking 'winners or losers.'"

City of Chicago officials urged the FAA last week not to lower the cap below 2,800 daily flights, arguing a deeper cut would be unwarranted. Under current airline schedules, 2026 would be the busiest summer on record at O'Hare.

The FAA's proposed cap and proportional reductions are intended to limit widespread delays and operational breakdowns during peak travel months; the agency will take up the proposal when it meets with carriers on Thursday.

Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Cynthia Osterman.