Review Finds Chicago's Big Airport Can't Handle As Many Flights As Earlier Thought

A third round of cuts in the number of flight operations at Chicago's O'Hare International comes as the FAA releases its report on the number of operations the airport can safely handle -- in good weather and in bad. The bottom line: O'Hare can't handle as many flights in IMC as its administrators originally thought.

The original study of O'Hare's traffic-handling abilities, conducted three years ago, indicated O'Hare could handle as many as 202 VFR operations and up to 160 IFR operations every hour. The new FAA report, released on Monday, says those numbers are 200 and 144 respectively -- at best. During peak hours, there are between 200 and 220 flight operations scheduled at O'Hare.

That single inequity between the number of flights scheduled and the number of flights the airport can actually handle has forced more passenger delays this year than in years past.

"From 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., we have constant busy traffic of 200 [flight] operations per hour. There are no slow periods when we can clean up the airport and start from scratch," said veteran controller Craig Burzych, NATCA's president in the tower at O'Hare. He was quoted by the Chicago Tribune, which obtained an early copy of the new FAA capacity study.

Monday, the "O'Hare Accords" went into effect. A negotiated agreement between the FAA and airlines, the accords mean airlines will limit their operations at O'Hare to no more than 88 flights an hour. There's a bit of wriggle-room. The deal also allows for four unscheduled flights (military or cargo, for example) each hour. That deal will remain in effect for the next six months.

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and his administration insist their $15 billion plan for renovating and expanding O'Hare will solve the problem -- eventually. But that work isn't expected to be finished before 2013.

FMI: www.ohare.com