FAA to Allow JetBlue to Fly Less Than Minimum Number of NYC Flights

The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday partially granted a request from JetBlue Airways to reduce the number of flights it operates out of two New York City-area airports below the required minimum.

The airports are John F. Kennedy International in New York’s borough of Queens, and Newark-Liberty International Airport cross the Hudson River in New Jersey.

The decision is critical for JetBlue, as it allows the airline to continue to maintain its takeoff and landing slots at both airports despite falling below the contractually agreed upon number of flights out of JFK and Newark.

For heavily congested airports like those servicing New York City, that means airlines must use their gates at least 80 percent of the time, according to Reuters News Service. JetBlue asked for the waiver under the premise that the airline’s “workforce and flight operations are under extraordinary strain, leaving little margin for operational challenges caused by airport construction, (air traffic control) delays and weather,” as well as a “severe, industry-wide shortage of aircraft parts.”

The partial permission by the FAA gives JetBlue the chance to reduce the number of flights until the end of the year but to maintain its takeoff and landing slots at both facilities. JetBlue had originally requested relief into 2023.