Federal officials have ordered Chicago O’Hare International Airport to cut approximately 300 flights per day during the busy summer travel season to curb widespread delays.
O’Hare, the nation’s busiest airport by flight volume, had scheduled more than 3,080 flights on peak summer days in 2026 — a 15 percent increase from 2025 — even as fewer than 60 percent of last summer’s arrivals and departures ran on time.
To avoid a sharp uptick in traffic, the Department of Transportation will now limit daily operations to 2,708 flights between May 17 and October 24.
“If you book a ticket, we want you and your family to have the certainty that you’ll fly without endless delays and cancellations,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement on Thursday.
“We successfully turned Newark Liberty International into the most on-time airport in the Tri-State Area by fixing telecoms issues at record speed and reducing overcapacity,” he added. “Applying that same strategy at O’Hare – where unrealistic schedules were set to dramatically exceed what they could handle – will reduce delays and make this busy summer travel season a little easier.”
A survey released earlier this month found that O’Hare is the most anxiety-inducing airport in the country, receiving a stress score of 8.42 out of 10.
The newly announced cutbacks are partly driven by the fact that air traffic controllers are grappling with taxiway closures and limited gate capacity, the Department of Transportation said.
The industry has been weighed down by a persistent shortage of air traffic controllers for years. Over the past decade, the number of air traffic controllers has declined by roughly 6 percent, even as the number of flights has risen by 10 percent.
“Our number one priority is the safety of the flying public, and that means ensuring airline schedules reflect what the system can safely handle,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in a statement.
The cuts in Chicago also coincide with a long-running Department of Homeland Security shutdown that has driven TSA staffing shortages, causing long lines, delays and missed flights across the country.
Airlines operating out of O’Hare will now review the order’s details to determine which flights to cut and when to inform passengers.
A spokesperson for the Chicago Department of Aviation told The Independent that the department “appreciates the Federal Aviation Administration's thoughtful approach to proposed flight limits at O’Hare International Airport, ensuring they do not extend beyond summer 2026 and do not fall below 2025 actual operations.”
Multiple major airlines also expressed support for the federal government’s directive.
“We are grateful to Secretary Duffy, Administrator Bedford, and their leadership teams for acting swiftly to ensure that Chicagoans and all consumers continue to benefit from sensible competition and to help minimize flight disruptions during the busy summer season,” American Airlines said in a statement provided to Politico.
United Airlines praised the government’s decision, saying it came up with “a solution that makes sense for everyone who cares about O’Hare’s success.”
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