United Airlines scraps routes from O'Hare to 10 regional airports, blaming FAA flight caps

United Airlines has scrapped plans to start offering flights from Chicago O'Hare International Airport to 10 regional airports, blaming the move on an order to cap flights at that airport.

The Chicago-based airline was ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration to reduce the number of flights in and out of O'Hare out of concerns that the airport could become overloaded. The original restrictions were set to expire on Oct. 24, but the FAA recently extended them another year until Oct. 30, 2027.

United is now cutting its regional flights to Champaign and Bloomington in Illinois; Kalamazoo, Lansing and Marquette in Michigan; La Crosse and Wausau in Wisconsin; Tri-Cities Airport in Tennessee; Erie, Pennsylvania; and Rochester, Minnesota.

The airline said they hope to revive the plans to serve those airports when the FAA order expires next year.

There have also been concerns in Illinois that reductions for commercial flights to small airports around the country, including three in Illinois, could be reduced under President Donald Trump's budget proposal.

Congress is currently evaluating the proposal, which calls for reducing funding for the Essential Air Service program at the U.S. Department of Transportation by $372 million. The program, which subsidizes flights to rural areas and small cities throughout the country, costs about $633.5 million annually as of May 1, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's annual report.

Capitol News Illinois contributed to this article.