The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has selected 40 airports across more than two dozen states for schedule reductions, according to a recent order. Major hubs such as Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, and Charlotte, North Carolina are among those affected. In metropolitan areas including New York, Houston, Chicago, and Washington, multiple airports will feel the impact. The ripple effects could even extend to smaller regional airports.
As the FAA’s official order approaches, airlines have scrambled to adjust their schedules and began canceling flights as early as Thursday. Travelers with weekend and future plans are now nervously waiting to see if their flights will take off as scheduled.
According to FlightAware, more than 780 flights have already been canceled nationwide. Delta Air Lines announced plans to cancel around 170 flights on Friday, while American Airlines said it would cut 220 flights daily through Monday.
The FAA stated that reductions will begin at 4% and could ramp up to 10% by November 14. These cutbacks, impacting all commercial airlines, will be in effect between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The agency asserts that these measures are necessary to relieve pressure on air traffic controllers, who have been working without pay for over a month. Many controllers are working six-day weeks with mandatory overtime, and an increasing number have started calling out, citing exhaustion and financial strain.
“You can’t expect people to go in to work when they’re not getting a paycheck,” said Kelly Matthews of Flat Rock, Michigan, a frequent business traveler who has canceled most of her upcoming trips. “It’s not a matter of them not wanting to do the job, but you can’t afford to pay for gas, your day care, and everything else.”
This order coincides with the Trump administration ramping up pressure on Democrats in Congress to end the government shutdown. Airlines have said they will strive to minimize the impact on customers, with some planning to focus on reducing routes to and from small and medium-sized cities.
According to the Department of Transportation, carriers must refund customers whose flights are canceled, but are not required to cover secondary costs such as food and hotel accommodations unless the delay or cancellation was within the airline’s control.
Industry analyst Henry Harteveldt warned that the reductions will “have a noticeable impact across the U.S. air transportation system.” The cuts could also affect package delivery services, as both Memphis, Tennessee (FedEx hub) and Louisville, Kentucky (UPS hub and site of this week’s deadly cargo plane crash) are among the airports facing reductions.
*Associated Press journalists Hallie Golden in Seattle, Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama, and Wyatte Grantham-Philips in New York contributed to this report.*
https://ktar.com/national-news/the-faas-order-to-cut-flights-nationwide-due-to-the-government-shutdown-is-set-to-take-effect/5771934/