United Airlines cuts more than 100 daily flights at O’Hare after FAA mandate

United Airlines is cutting more than 100 daily flights at O’Hare Airport this summer to comply with federal limits meant to pare down the recent flight expansions between rivals United and American Airlines.

Chicago-based United, in a letter to bemployees this week, did not share exactly which flights would be cut between May 14 and Oct. 24. But the company is in the process of notifying affected customers.

The Federal Aviation Administration last month demanded airlines cut 12% of flights at O’Hare to maintain safety and avoid potentially massive delays.

O’Hare had an overbooked flight schedule this summer, the FAA has said, due to fierce competition between United and American Airlines. The airlines have been adding flights in order to control more gates.

That’s added significant strain on the airport’s capacity to handle the number of flights. Less than 60% of flights at O’Hare were on time last summer, according to the FAA.

And the potential for delays is greater as construction gets underway for the expansion of Terminal 1.

Even with the flight cuts at O’Hare, recently named the nation’s busiest airport by flight volume, the airfield is still slightly busier than it was last year. The FAA cut the proposed summer schedule of 3,080 daily flights down to 2,708.

United says its revised summer schedule of 650 daily departures — reduced from around 780 — is still 11% higher than it was in 2025. And because they are using larger aircraft on some routes, it will carry 13% more passengers this summer.

United CEO Scott Kirby recently said United may add flights elsewhere because of the the FAA’s flight cap at O’Hare.

American Airlines has not announced its specific flight cuts at O’Hare. The airline expects to cut around 40 daily arrivals and departures, a company spokesperson said Friday.