Source: The Points Guy
Summary
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered airlines to cut hundreds of daily flights at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) for the summer season to curb expected flight delays. The order applies to flights scheduled between May 17 and Oct. 24 and affects United Airlines and American Airlines, the airport’s top carriers. The FAA had feared that jam-packed flight schedules combined with runway construction could have caused mass disruptions.
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The escape is carefully planned.
Airlines will have to remove hundreds of daily flights already on the schedule, with the FAA doling out schedule reduction requirements based on last summer’s schedule at O’Hare. United and American Airlines will have to cut flights, but international airlines will not be required to cancel flights. Travelers whose flights are canceled or significantly delayed will be entitled to a full refund if they choose not to accept rebooking or the new schedule. The FAA’s intervention comes amid an airline turf war that had raised fears of significant backups at ORD this summer. O’Hare was set to see roughly 19% more departures between May and October than a year ago.
Author: Evan Null
