FAA Moves to Cap Summer Flights at Chicago O'Hare to Avert Gridlock
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The Federal Aviation Administration has taken the unusual step of proposing temporary caps on daily takeoffs and landings at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport this summer, responding to an aggressive capacity buildup by hub carriers American Airlines and United Airlines. FAA filings from February and March 2026 outline plans first to limit operations to about 2,800 flights per day, then to roughly 2,600, instead of allowing them to jump above 3,000 from last summer’s level of about 2,700. Regulators say the surge would risk overwhelming O’Hare’s runways, terminals, and air traffic control, creating large-scale delays and cancellations, and have convened meetings with the airlines and the Chicago Department of Aviation to hammer out cuts. American CEO Robert Isom has accused United of “reckless scheduling” that would have led to “gridlock,” while United CEO Scott Kirby welcomed the Department of Transportation’s intervention as forcing the rivals to “share.” Aviation experts note the FAA typically waits for chaos to materialize before forcing cuts, so this pre-emptive move signals how seriously it views congestion risk at the nation’s busiest airport by movements and highlights growing tensions between airline growth strategies and the limits of U.S. airspace and airport infrastructure.