JetBlue Airways is preparing to cut dozens of weekly flights in the New York area this spring and summer in response to a shortage of air traffic controllers, a move that will have a financial impact on the airline, the CEO of the airline told CNBC. company, Robin Hayes.
FDA staff shortages and potential schedule cuts in the region continue to weigh on airlines, still stalled on their goal of increasing capacity as travel demand returns post-pandemic.
Hayes said the latest move is particularly shocking for JetBlue, which is headquartered in New York City, because the vast majority of its flights take off or land in the city or transit through its airspace.
“We have staff, we’ve already trained the pilots, we’re paying for the pilots, we’ve bought planes, we’re paying for gates and slots,” Hayes said. “This is going to have a very significant financial impact on JetBlue and our customers.”
Flight cancellations and delays increased during the peak hours of 2022, and airlines reduced schedules to put more slack in the system. If the weather is bad or there are other challenges, disruptions tend to be triggered if airlines have packed their schedules with too many flights.
Due to staff shortages, the FDA released a new plan to help prevent a repeat of 2022 flight disruptions, reducing flight requirements by up to 10% for airline takeoff and landing rights, with the aim of avoiding congestion in New York and Washington DC.
The exemptions will last from May 15 to September 15.
Many fear that the reduction in flights will lead to increasingly expensive tickets.
