FAA Sets October 16 Deadline for Summer 2027 Airport Schedules

The Federal Aviation Administration has fixed October 16, 2026 as the deadline for airlines to file their Summer 2027 flight schedules at five of the busiest capacity-constrained airports in the United States. The notice, published in the Federal Register of October 9, 2026 (Vol. 91, No. 195, Notices, p. 64733), applies to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The document carries the official reference FR Doc. 2026–20784.

The Summer 2027 scheduling season runs from March 28, 2027 through October 30, 2027, in recognition of the IATA Summer scheduling period. FAA has designated JFK as an IATA Level 3 airport consistent with the Worldwide Slot Guideline (WSG), while EWR, LAX, ORD and SFO are Level 2 airports subject to a schedule review process premised on voluntary cooperation. The agency generally applies WSG edition 9, even though that guideline has been replaced by the Worldwide Airports Slot Guidelines (WASG), edition 4, effective August 1, 2025 and published jointly by Airports Council International-World, IATA and the Worldwide Airport Coordinators Group (WWACG).

Designated hours and where to file

FAA is primarily concerned with scheduled and other regularly conducted commercial operations during designated hours, although carriers may submit schedule plans for the entire day. The designated hours for the season are:

• EWR and JFK: 0600 to 2300 Eastern Time (1000 to 0300 UTC).
• LAX and SFO: 0600 to 2300 Pacific Time (1300 to 0600 UTC).
• ORD: 0600 to 0000 Central Time (1100 to 0500 UTC), a change from previous seasons.

Schedules must be submitted to the Slot Administration Office by email at 7-AWA-slotadmin@faa.gov. The contact for further information is Al Meilus, Manager, Slot Administration and Capacity Analysis, AJR–G, FAA, 800 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591, telephone (202) 267–2822. The notice was issued in Washington, DC, on October 6, 2026 by Gianfranco Burdhimo II, Acting Deputy Vice President, System Operations Services.

Operating limits at Newark and O’Hare

FAA issued a Final Order on June 10, 2025 limiting operations at EWR because of elevated delays and disruptions caused by air traffic controller staffing challenges, construction, congestion and telecommunication issues. On September 29, 2025 it extended that order through the end of the Summer 2026 season and raised hourly operating limitations from 68 to 72; on June 23, 2026 it extended the limits through the end of the Summer 2027 season, October 30, 2027, because staffing levels for Area C of the Philadelphia TRACON (PHL), which manages EWR, remain level and will not increase significantly before the season starts.

At ORD, a Final Order of April 20, 2026 limited operations over elevated delays and disruptions linked to airport construction and competitive scheduling dynamics between the airport’s two largest carriers. On July 14, 2026 the agency extended that order through the end of the Summer 2027 season, October 30, 2027, as construction and airfield adjustments continue. Scheduled operations at JFK are limited by an order that expires on October 28, 2028.

What carriers must file

Submissions must include, at minimum, the marketing or operating carrier, flight number, scheduled time of operation, frequency, aircraft equipment and effective dates. Carriers may use the IATA standard schedule information format and data elements set out in the IATA Standard Schedules Information Manual (SSIM), Chapter 6. Some carriers at JFK track slots through FAA-assigned Slot ID numbers; FAA runs a similar voluntary process at EWR using Reference IDs.

In reviewing requests, the agency weighs historic slots or services from the previous equivalent season over new demand for the same timings, unchanged services over services planning to change time, the introduction of year-round services, the effective period of operation, regularly planned operations over ad hoc operations, and other operational factors. FAA also warned that submitted schedule information may be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and that carriers seeking confidentiality should clearly mark the material as proprietary information (“PROPIN”).

Why it matters

The deadline reaches well beyond airline planning departments: these five airports absorb a large share of US domestic and international traffic, and the schedule review decides which carriers keep their historic timings and which must shift them. For travellers, the practical effect is that the Summer 2027 timetable at ORD, JFK, LAX, EWR and SFO will be settled against runway capacity limits that stay in force through October 30, 2027.

Source: Federal Register, Vol. 91, No. 195, October 9, 2026, Notices, p. 64733 (official reference: FR Doc. 2026–20784).