United Airlines to cut about 50% daily flights

On Thursday, United Airlines will temporarily cut about 50 daily departures from its Newark airport hub to address congestion and concerns about the U.S. summer air travel season.

The summer flight cuts would only apply to domestic flights, representing 12% of the United States' 425 daily flights in Newark and would not result in the airline leaving markets, the company told Reuters.

The Federal Aviation Administration FAA granted United approval on June 17 to temporarily cut Newark flights after the Chicago-based carrier petitioned for a waiver, citing airport construction and air traffic control ATC staffing.

The agency said in a previously unreported letter seen by Reuters that it expected the move would help the FAA and carriers manage delays during terminal and runway construction projects. An employee email sent Thursday by United Chief Operations Officer Jon Roitman and seen by Reuters sets out reasons for the company's plans.

The cuts should help minimize excessive delays and improve on-time performance, even though the company had the planes, pilots, crews and support staff necessary to fly our current Newark schedule, according to Roitman. The airlines expect record demand and are rebuilding their workforce after thousands of employees left the industry during the COVID - 19 epidemic, so travelers are bracing for a difficult summer. Many U.S. carriers have already made major flight cuts to summer schedules to improve performance.

Newark, the 14th busiest https: www.faa. The gov airports planning capacity passenger-allcargo stats passenger media preliminary-cy 21 commercial-service enplanements.pdf U.S. airport in 2021 is one of three major airports in the New York City area.

Service disruptions at Newark, where United operates about 70% of flights, can have a ripple effect across the country.

After thousands of Memorial Day weekend flight disruptions, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg urged major US airline CEOs to make sure they can reliably operate planned summer schedules.

In an earlier June employee email, Roitman said that JetBlue and Spirit are scheduling unapproved flights at Newark. Customers at what is already the most delayed airport in the country are enduring longer delays and more cancellations. Spirit Airlines rejected United's misleading efforts to blame Spirit and JetBlue Airways for congestion delays, while JetBlue said United should look in the proverbial mirror first when seeking a carrier to blame. The United States does not anticipate any schedule changes at its other six U.S. hubs this summer.