United Airlines indicated that it will cease operations at New York City’s John F. Kennedy (JFK) airport if it does not receive an affirmative response from the FAA to its request for additional slots at the terminal by the end of October.
As reported by Reuters, United CEO Scott Kirby wrote last week to FAA acting administrator Billy Nolen urging him to increase capacity at JFK.
Reuters reporter David Shepardson shared on Twitter the internal communication Kirby sent to United employees. In it, the CEO compares JFK’s infrastructure against that of Newark (EWR) and indicates that “there is additional capacity at JFK, especially since the current capacity was not reevaluated after substantial improvements were made at the airport. United believes it is in the best interest of the traveling public for the FAA to quantify and distribute the unused capacity that exists at JFK.”
“If our latest order is approved and the FAA is able to offer United a temporary multi-season distribution, we are prepared to expand and provide customers with a more competitive offering at JFK,” Kirby adds.
“But if we cannot obtain additional slots for multiple seasons, we will have to suspend service at JFK at the end of October. This would be a tough and frustrating step, and one we are working hard to avoid,” the CEO concludes.
