The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Friday that it had finalized its procedure to reassign 16 afternoon and evening runway times previously used by Southwest Airlines at Newark Liberty International Airport (AWR).
The airport is also asking for applications from U.S. low-cost and ultra-low-cost carriers to address competition issues at the airport.
“This decision to open up access at Newark means lower fares and more choices for the traveling public,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to promoting competition, lowering costs for Americans, and protecting consumer choice, which is exactly what this step will help do.”
Based on comments the USDOT received in response to its notice proposing the reassignment, the department will consider applications for less than the full slate of 16 timings if no airline submits an application for all 16 that addresses the selection criteria.
The department said the notice and the action it is taking are in response to the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s decision in the case of Spirit Airline v. DOT, et al.
That case centers around the reallocation of slots after Southwest announced in 2019 that it would pull out of Newark. Of the 16 peak hour slots Southwest gave up, Spirit Airlines requested five. However, the FAA and the USDOT announced that they would be retiring the slots. Spirit petitioned for a review of the decision in November 2019, arguing that the agency’s action was arbitrary and capricious, failed to address the competitive effects of the decision, and that the agency did not provide substantial evidence that reallocating the slots would increase congestion.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found that the FAA erred in refusing to reallocate flight authorization without considering the decision’s effect on competition and required the FAA to address the competition issue.
The new slot allocation also fulfills President Joe Biden’s executive order to promote competition in the American economy and at major gateway airports.