FAA will cap flights at Chicago O’Hare to curb summer delays

April 16 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration will cap daily flights at Chicago O’Hare International Airport this summer, forcing airlines to scale back schedules after a surge in planned operations threatened to overwhelm the airport and trigger delays.

Under an order issued on Thursday, the FAA will limit operations at O’Hare to 2,708 arrivals and departures per day between May 17 and October 24, a level the agency said would prevent delays from worsening beyond last summer’s already strained performance.

The move follows weeks of tense negotiations with airlines after carriers scheduled more than 3,000 daily flights for peak summer days — nearly 15% higher than a year earlier — despite ongoing construction and operational constraints at one of the busiest U.S. hubs.

The FAA said last summer’s performance underscored the risks of overscheduling. Only about 56% of departures and 58% of arrivals left on time at O’Hare during the 2025 summer season, as construction projects and congestion slowed traffic across the airfield.

(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago;Editing by Nick Zieminski)