en.Wedoany.com Reported - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has extended operational restrictions and staffing waiver measures at several major airports in the New York and New Jersey region, with the new deadline covering through the end of the summer 2027 flight schedule season. According to a recent notice published in the Federal Register, flight operation restrictions at Newark Liberty International Airport will remain in effect, while staffing waivers for John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport have also been approved for extension.
Regarding specific restrictions, from October 25, 2026, to October 30, 2027, scheduled flight operations at Newark Airport will be limited to 36 arrivals and 36 departures per hour between 6:00 a.m. and 10:59 p.m. daily. The FAA stated that the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control (Philadelphia TRACON), currently responsible for Newark's Class C airspace, has 74 certified professional controllers on staff, against a target configuration of 114. There are also 28 certified controllers in this airspace, with a target of 46. Under these restrictions, the airport's on-time arrival rate remains at 75%.
In a related notice, the FAA also extended staffing waivers for operations at JFK, LaGuardia, and certain affected operations at Washington National Airport (DCA) through October 30, 2027. The agency noted that the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (New York TRACON) currently has 129 certified professional controllers, reaching only 57% of its staffing target of 226, and is not expected to achieve a 70% staffing rate before 2027. Through this waiver, airlines can reduce some flight operations without losing slot priority for future flights. The FAA explained that this measure aims to align planned flight traffic with the system's actual processing capacity.
The FAA issued these actions on the same day that the Aviation, Space, and Innovation Subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation was originally scheduled to review airspace safety and recent unsafe incidents in the National Airspace System. Following several recent accidents and near-misses, including the fatal midair collision near Washington National Airport in January 2025 and the Air Canada Express collision at LaGuardia Airport in March 2026, the hearing has intensified focus on issues such as controller staffing, runway incursions, and collision risks.
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