The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing capping the number of daily summer operations at Chicago O'Hare at 2,800, similar to the number the hub currently facilitates.

The measure is being proposed to address the possibility of overscheduling at the airport by United Airlines and American Airlines. However, the FAA met with the carriers on March 4 to discuss the flight restrictions without any clear agreement. The parties are set to reconvene, possibly in the second week of March, Reuters reported.

Both the FAA and the US Department of Transportation (DOT) have determined that the proposed increase in operations at O’Hare will exceed the airport’s capacity throughout the summer 2026 scheduling season, between March 29 and October 25. Currently, published schedules exceed 3,080 daily operations on peak days, compared to around 2,680 total operations last summer season.

“This proposed increase is significant and would stress the runway, terminal, and air traffic control systems at the airport,” the FAA said, adding that O’Hare facilitates about 100 hourly departures and arrivals respectively. This level of operations is manageable given the current infrastructure and staffing resources available.

“FAA proposes adopting these same limits throughout the Summer 2026 Scheduling Season to prevent large-scale operational disruption while also allowing air carriers to operate within the airport’s demonstrated manageable capacity,” it added.

United and American are currently in the midst of a turf war at Chicago O’Hare. In 2018, airlines and the airport agreed on a “linear frontage” method to allocate gates, deploying a use-it-or-lose-it formula. After the COVID-19 pandemic, American lost five gates, with United gaining a roughly equal number.

American expected to regain three gates in 2026. However, United said it would draw a “line in the sand” and not allow its biggest rival win a single gate at its expense. “We are going to add as many flights as are required to make sure that we keep our gate count the same in Chicago,” chief executive Scott Kirby declared.

These remarks prompted American to accuse United of scheming to overschedule the airport “to manipulate a provision which was meant to promote competition,” COO David Seyomur and CCO Nathaniel Pieper told staff in a memo.

According to ch-aviation schedules data, United accounts for 47.2% of the weekly capacity at O’Hare, while American has 33.9%.

In a statement to ch-aviation earlier this week, United said it shared a commitment with the US government “to running a safe and reliable operation out of ORD and look forward to a collaborative discussion.” American Airlines was not immediately available at the time of going to press.

GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes (G3, São Paulo Congonhas) will add five A330-900Ns on operating leases from Avolon, after parent Abra Group confirmed that it would allocate the aircraft for use by the Brazilian carrier.

The arrival of the five Airbus widebodies is scheduled for 2026, but further details remain scarce at this time.

“The incorporation of the A330-900N aircraft into GOL’s airline fleet is aligned with Abra Group’s broader strategic planning, aimed at expanding operations in the region and internationally,” the company said in a notice to the market.

Abra Group has two more A330-900Ns on contract from the lessor and said it would initially allocate them to avianca airlines.

The group said that its Spanish subsidiary, Wamos Air, "will support GOL's internationalizstion strategy and avianca's expansion during this growth period". The Brazilian airline currently does not operate any widebodies and has never served long-haul routes beyond the range of its B737-8s.

Earlier in the month, GOL reserved the registrations for seven A330-900Ns, according to data from Brazil’s civil aviation authority (Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil - ANAC). The seven aircraft are currently in the fleet of local rival Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras. The registrations are PS-WGA, PS-WGC, PS-WGD, PS-WGE, PS-WGF, PS-WGG, and PS-WGH, attached to the following serial numbers, respectively: 1876, 1895, 1924, 1934, 1952, 1901, and 1903.

Of the seven, those that are currently under lease by Azul from Avolon are PR-ANV (msn 1952), PR-ANW (msn 1934), PR-ANX (msn 1924), PR-ANY (msn 1895), and PR-ANZ (msn 1876). The remaining two, PR-ANB (msn 1901), and PR-ANC (msn 1903), are leased from Park Aerospace Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Avolon.

The arrival of the five widebody jets will end GOL’s history of operating exclusively with Boeing through its B737 family. However, after the company emerged from Chapter 11 and formed Abra Group with avianca, management was vocal about the new possibilities this holding could bring, including long-haul opportunities for GOL.

ch-aviation fleets data shows GOL’s fleet comprises 148 aircraft, namely twelve B737-700s, sixty B737-8s, sixty-seven B737-800s, and nine B737-800(BCF)s.