United Airlines To Suspend Service At JFK Airport In October

United Airlines Holdings Inc UAL on Friday said that it would stop flying in and out of New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport by the end of October. United restarted flights out of the airport in 2021 after a five-year gap.

United has been flying to San Francisco and Los Angeles twice daily from JFK Airport, the busiest New York-area airport. 

Last month, United threatened to suspend service if it cannot secure additional flight slots from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

As quoted by Reuters a memo from United said, "Given our current, too-small-to-be-competitive schedule out of J.F.K. — coupled with the start of the Winter season where more airlines will operate their slots as they resume JFK flying — United has made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend service at J.F.K."

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Earlier in the pandemic, United had offered service at JFK by taking unused slots awarded to other airlines. However, with travel demand back on the rise, those airlines have reclaimed those slots and are resuming their use. 

United said that it has close to 100 employees working out of JFK, and they are being moved to nearby airports. Newark Liberty International Airport is a United hub.

In a statement, the FAA said that it is dedicated to expanding New York City airports and airspace capacity to accommodate more flights. 

"We will follow our fair and well-established process to award future slots to increase competition," the agency said. 

The Chicago-based airline operates 69% of the flights from Newark and is the dominant carrier at the New Jersey airport.

Photo: Daniel Ramirez on flickr