FAA Wants Your Thoughts on Renewing Airline Slot Data Collection
Published Date: 3/5/2025
Notice
Summary
The FAA is asking airlines that have runway slots at major U.S. airports to keep sharing info so they can manage flight schedules better and cut down delays. They’re renewing this info collection and want your thoughts by April 4, 2025. This helps keep air travel smooth without adding extra costs or hassle.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Carriers must keep submitting slot and schedule data
If you are an air carrier holding slots at DCA, JFK, LGA, LAX, EWR, ORD, or SFO, you must continue providing information such as written consent/confirmation of slot transfers, slot returns, lottery requests, slot usage reports, schedule submissions, and requests for unscheduled operation reservations. The rule specifies reporting frequencies (bi-monthly slot usage reporting at DCA and LGA; seasonal usage reporting at JFK; semiannual schedule submissions for EWR, LAX, ORD, and SFO) and estimates burdens: 6 minutes per slot transaction/return/update/lottery request, 2 minutes per unscheduled slot request, 1.5 hours per schedule submission, 1 hour per slot usage report, with an estimated total annual burden of 5,616.7 hours across 127 unique carriers.
FAA uses reports to reduce flight delays
FAA collects slot and schedule information from carriers at DCA, JFK, LGA, LAX, EWR, ORD, and SFO to support advance management of air traffic demand with the stated goal of reducing potential delays. The collection and schedule coordination are intended to help FAA manage runway schedules and facilitate adjustments to limit congestion.
Airports not required to add annual capacity reports
FAA declined ACI-NA's recommendation to require airports designated Level 2 or Level 3 to submit an annual runway capacity analysis, stating FAA already monitors runway capacity and slot usage using existing systems (for example, ASPM, TFMS, OOOI data, CountOps, ASQP, and FSDS). FAA therefore does not plan additional information collection from airport operators for that purpose.
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