JetBlue to cut 10% of NYC summer departures on FAA snarls

JetBlue Airways Corp. criticized federal officials as the carrier said a shortage of air-traffic controllers would force it to cut 10% of its departures from the New York City area during the busy summer travel season.

The pullback will have a “pretty significant financial impact” on JetBlue in the second and possibly third quarters, President Joanna Geraghty said on a conference call Tuesday to discuss earnings results. The company warned last month of possible flight cuts after the US Federal Aviation Administration asked airlines to trim flying at some of the nation’s busiest airports.

“We’re obviously very concerned about New York City for the summer,” Geraghty said. “The FAA continues to be significantly understaffed. This is a continuing issue and frankly it’s only getting worse this summer.”

The reductions take effect in June at John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports in New York, and at Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, said a spokesman for JetBlue. The airline, which is based in Long Island City, New York, didn’t specify how it could affect earnings, but said the effect on flying capacity and revenue would be less than the 10% cut in departures. 

The FAA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The issue threatens to bring a repeat of last summer’s woes, when travelers suffered through flight delays and cancellations as high demand filled aircraft. About 25% of flights by major US carriers were delayed last summer for an average 49 minutes, and another 1.9% were canceled, according to data from FlightAware. 

A shortage of air-traffic controllers in New York has an outsized impact on the total US aviation system, with a high percentage of aircraft flying into or through the region. JetBlue won’t move the flights being cut to other cities, instead using the extra crews and aircraft as reserves to help offset delays it expects to be linked to air-traffic control staffing issues across the country.

“We’re very prepared for this summer,” Geraghty said. “Most airlines are. Unfortunately, the FAA is not.”

JetBlue’s own issues caused more flight delays in 2022 than FAA staffing and other causes such as weather, according to government data supplied by the airline. The carrier had 36,100 flights that were at least 15 minutes late, compared to 21,752 tardy flights attributed to the FAA and the air-traffic system.

The rate of airline-caused delays was the highest on record last year as the industry recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic’s impacts. In JetBlue’s case, in the years before the pandemic it generally reported about the same number of self-inflicted delays as those triggered by the air-traffic system.