The U.S. Department of Transportation will announce on Tuesday that it is moving forward with temporary cuts to flights at Newark after meetings with major U.S. airlines to address congestion impacts, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.
The Federal Aviation Administration is going to announce a new revised schedule at Newark to ease congestion, Duffy told CNBC. The airport has been dealing with a chaotic series of equipment outages, runway construction and air traffic control staffing issues.
"(We) have a structure of how many flights can leave per hour. We have a delayed flight schedule of takeoffs," Duffy said. "You are going to see a reduction."
The FAA held three days of one-on-one meetings last week with the airlines "to find a balance between reducing their operations at the airport and meeting the needs of each individual airline."
Airlines told Reuters they expect some additional flight cuts will be required on top of voluntary flight cuts.
United declined comment.
The FAA said Friday it was proposing a maximum arrival rate at Newark of 28 aircraft per hour until the runway construction is complete by June 15 except for Saturdays until the end of the year.
Outside of the construction period, the maximum arrival rate would be 34 aircraft per hour until October 25.
The meetings included United, Delta Air Lines (DAL.N), JetBlue Airways (JBLU.O), American Airlines (AAL.O), Alaska Airlines (ALK.N), Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air (ALGT.O)
United has sharply cut flights at its Newark hub and wants the FAA to impose new limitations on flights there to address ongoing delays.
The FAA last year relocated control of Newark's airspace to Philadelphia to address staffing and congested New York City-area traffic and the facility has faced numerous technology issues.
Nationwide, the FAA has about 3,500 air traffic controllers, below targeted staffing levels.
