FAA Orders Major Flight Reductions at O’Hare to Prevent Summer Delays

(SeaPRwire) –   For the summer months, federal transportation authorities are placing a limit on daily flights at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, aiming to “prevent widespread flight delays” at one of the country’s busiest airports.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated in a release that the new directive, issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thursday, “will cut down on delays and make this bustling summer travel period a bit smoother.”

“When you purchase a ticket, we want you and your loved ones to be sure you’ll travel without constant delays and cancellations,” Duffy noted. He added that “unrealistic flight schedules were created at O’Hare that far surpassed the airport’s capacity.”

Per the Department of Transportation, O’Hare is “the busiest airport in the U.S. in terms of flight volume.” This summer, the airport initially planned over 3,080 flights on its peak travel days—an almost 15% rise compared to last summer.

In its directive, the FAA noted that this increase “will go beyond the airport’s capacity during Summer 2026.” The agency also stated that both American Airlines and United Airlines “have unveiled expansion plans” at O’Hare, which “could potentially cause major delays in Summer 2026 because ongoing construction is restricting the airfield’s ability to manage the projected traffic.”

Because of this, the FAA is capping daily flights at the airport at 2,708. This means that on the busiest days this summer, O’Hare may need to reduce up to 372 flights per day. On less busy days, fewer flights will need to be canceled from the schedule.

According to the FAA’s directive, this flight schedule cut will take effect on May 17 and continue until October 24.

O’Hare has not yet released public details about which flights the directive might affect, and the airport did not promptly reply to TIME’s request for a statement.

In a statement to TIME, United expressed gratitude to the Department of Transportation and the FAA “for guiding the process to find a solution that benefits all those invested in O’Hare’s success.”

“We are currently reviewing the FAA’s directive and will provide more details—including any next steps—once our review is finished,” the airline stated.

American Airlines also thanked the federal transportation bodies in a statement.

“Once put into place, the FAA’s measure will enhance reliability and decrease delays for passengers traveling to, from, or through O’Hare this summer,” the airline noted.

In an internal memo to its Chicago-based employees (shared with TIME), American Airlines provided initial estimates of the FAA directive’s impact, based on previously released schedules: American said it will need to cut no more than 40 flights daily (including arrivals and departures at O’Hare), while it anticipates United will have to reduce around 200 flights per day during peak periods.

United Airlines did not provide an estimate of how many of its flights might be affected by the FAA’s directive.

The FAA reported that last summer, just 56% of departing flights from O’Hare were delay-free, and only 58% of arriving flights had no delays. The agency blamed most of these disruptions on “large-scale construction projects” at the airport, such as “rehabilitation work on Taxiways A and B leading to partial closures, and multiple taxiway shutdowns along with new routing to support concrete work west of the main terminal.”

The FAA indicated that it does not expect to extend scheduling restrictions beyond the summer, as it foresees “notable progress on airfield construction during the Summer 2026 season.”

“Our top priority is the safety of people who fly, which means making sure airline schedules align with what the system can safely manage,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford stated. “We thank the airlines for collaborating with us to achieve a responsible level of operations that boosts safety and provides a more dependable travel experience for the American public.”