To ease the skyjam, the Federal Aviation Administration this week will begin limiting the number of takeoffs and landings during peak periods at five of the busiest U.S. airports. The five: Chicago's O'Hare, New York's John F. Kennedy and La Guardia, Newark and Washington's National. During the crush from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at J.F.K., for example, the number of flights will be held to 90 per hour, 20 fewer than the highs of last summer, when two-hour delays were common.
The quotas have forced airlines to spread flights more evenly throughout the day and night, despite the public's preference...