Following American Airlines and United Airlines in reducing their summer schedules due to a lack of air traffic controllers in New York, Delta Air Lines will cut a little over 6% of its flights to and from airports in the New York City area in August.
The New York itinerary for May through July will only be slightly altered by Delta, unlike its long-standing competitors.
In total, the airline will cancel 6.3% of its regional flights in August, according to information provided by Cirium Schedules and examined by us. The first to notice the cuts was Simple Flying.
The most significant reductions affected travel between Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), as well as between Delta's two main New York hubs, LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
While the LGA-DCA route loses 51 flights for the month or about 37% of its scheduled operations, the LGA-DCA route loses a total of 34 flights for the month or slightly under 17% of its scheduled operations.
The airline will reduce service between LaGuardia and Hartford, Connecticut's Bradley International Airport (BDL) by 12 flights in each way, or two-thirds of its schedule. JFK-DCA will see 14 cuts in each direction, for a total of 28 flights, a significant 40% reduction.
Routes to Denver International Airport (DEN), Burlington International Airport (BTV), and Bangor International Airport (BGR) in Maine are also being cut from LaGuardia, while service to Santo Domingo Airport (SDQ) in the Dominican Republic, Charleston International Airport (CHS), Norfolk International Airport (ORF), and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) is being cut from JFK.
In August, the airline will also cut back on the number of flights it operates on a few routes out of the Washington, D.C., including those from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).
In September, Delta likewise cut back on its service between the New York airports and DCA. There were 18 fewer flights per day, or 26.1%, in each way to LGA, and 7 fewer flights per day, or 20%, in each direction to JFK.
A spokesperson for the airline claimed in a statement that the routes affected by the reduction were ones where travelers would still have access to other flights.
"These adjustments were made in domestic markets where our customers have a wide range of options available so they can be easily re-accommodated," the official said. This choice reinforces our dedication to giving our consumers the greatest travel experience possible.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in March that it will permit airlines to voluntarily return up to 10% of their summer New York-area slots. It's a part of a concerted effort to lessen traffic in the area's skies amid a lack of air traffic controllers and high summer travel volumes anticipated.
At some busy airports, the slots system controls traffic and avoids anti-competitive entrenchment; each pair of slots permits one arrival at an airport and one departure from it.
The FAA imposes a "use it or lose it" policy to stop airlines from holding slots they don't intend to use to undercut the competition. Each slot must be utilized by airlines at least 80% of the time. If not, the FAA may cancel the reservation and award the space to another airline.
The FAA announced last month that airlines could choose to temporarily return up to 10% of their slots between May 15 and September 15 due to an ongoing deficit of air traffic controllers at its air traffic control center in the New York area that won't be resolved until at least this fall.
FACEBOOK