By JOSH FUNK and RIO YAMAT, Associated Press
U.S. airlines began canceling hundreds of flights Thursday due to the Federal Aviation Administration’s order to reduce traffic at the country’s busiest airports starting Friday because of the government shutdown.
Nearly 700 planned Friday flights were cut from airline schedules, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions. That number, already four times higher than Thursday’s daily total, was likely to keep climbing.
The 40 airports selected by the FAA span more than two dozen states and include hubs such as Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles and Charlotte, North Carolina, according to a list distributed to the airlines and obtained by The Associated Press. In some metropolitan areas, including New York, Houston, Chicago and Washington, multiple airports will be impacted.
The FAA seeks to reduce service by 10% across “high-volume” markets to maintain travel safety as air traffic controllers exhibit signs of strain during the shutdown. The move also comes as the Trump administration is ramping up pressure on Democrats in Congress to end the shutdown.
Hours before the reductions went into place, airlines were scrambling to figure out where to cut. American Airlines said it reduced its schedule at the listed airports by 4% from Friday through Monday, about 220 cancellations each day.
Passengers with plans for the weekend and beyond waited nervously to see if their flights would take off as scheduled. Some travelers began changing or canceling itineraries preemptively.
Flight cuts will begin gradually
Airlines planned to phase in the cuts at the direction of the FAA, eliminating 4% of flights at the 40 airports on Friday and working up to 10%, according to three people familiar with the plans who were not authorized to discuss them publicly.
The FAA had not yet published an official order as of Thursday afternoon. The list distributed to the airlines showed that it would apply to international airports in most major cities and tourist destinations, from Anchorage, Alaska, Honolulu and Las Vegas to Boston, Miami and San Francisco,
Some airlines planned to focus on slashing routes to and from small and medium-size cities.
“This is going to have a noticeable impact across the U.S. air transportation system,” industry analyst Henry Harteveldt said.
The flight reductions just weeks before the busy holiday season prompted some travelers to change their plans or looking at other options.
Fallon Carter canceled her Friday flight from New York to Tampa, Florida, where she planned to spend the weekend at the beach. She was worried about making it back to Long Island to be a bridesmaid at her best friend’s wedding.
“I don’t know if I get there, will I get home?” Carter said.
The FAA is imposing the reductions to relieve pressure on air traffic controllers who are working without pay during the shutdown, which began Oct. 1, and have been increasingly taking sick days. Most controllers work mandatory overtime six days a week, leaving little time for side jobs to help cover bills unless they call out.
In recent weeks the FAA has delayed flights when airports or its other facilities are short on controllers.
Shuffling schedules
Airlines said they would try to minimize impact on customers, some of whom will see weekend travel plans disrupted with little notice.
United, Delta and American were among carriers that said they would offer refunds to passengers who opt not to fly, even if they purchased nonrefundable tickets.
The head of Frontier Airlines recommended that travelers buy backup tickets with another airline to avoid being stranded.
The cuts also could disrupt package deliveries because two airports with major distribution centers are on the list — FedEx operates at the airport in Memphis, Tennessee, and UPS in Louisville, Kentucky, the site of this week’s deadly cargo plane crash.
The cuts could affect as many as 1,800 flights, or upward of 268,000 passengers, per day, according to an estimate from Cirium.
Airlines are used to dealing with canceling thousands of flights on short notice during severe weather, but the difference now is that these cuts during the shutdown will last indefinitely until safety data improves.
Shutdown already straining travel
The shutdown is putting unnecessary strain on the system and damaging confidence in the U.S. air travel experience, said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman.
Kelly Matthews, who lives in Flat Rock, Michigan, and frequently flies for work, said she has canceled most of her upcoming trips and understands why federal airport employees have stopped showing up.
“You can’t expect people to go in to work when they’re not getting a paycheck for the continuation of over a month now,” she said. “I mean 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.”
Controller staffing worsening
The past weekend brought some of the worst staffing issues since the start of the shutdown.
From Friday to Sunday evening, at least 39 air traffic control facilities reported potential staffing limits, according to an AP analysis of operations plans shared through the Air Traffic Control System Command Center system. The figure, which is likely an undercount, was well above the average for weekends before the shutdown.
Associated Press journalists Wyatte Grantham-Philips in New York, Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama, and Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed.
List of airports impacted by government shutdown
1. Anchorage International in Alaska
2. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International in Georgia
3. Boston Logan International in Massachusetts
4. Baltimore/Washington International in Maryland
5. Charlotte Douglas International in North Carolina
6. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International in Ohio
7. Dallas Love Field in Texas
8. Ronald Reagan Washington National in Virginia
9. Denver International in Colorado
10. Dallas/Fort Worth International in Texas
11. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County in Michigan
12. Newark Liberty International in New Jersey
13. Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International in Florida
14. Honolulu International in Hawaii
15. Houston Hobby in Texas
16. Washington Dulles International in Virginia
17. George Bush Houston Intercontinental in Texas
18. Indianapolis International in Indiana
19. John F. Kennedy International in New York
20. Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas
21. Los Angeles International in California
22. LaGuardia Airport in New York
23. Orlando International in Florida
24. Chicago Midway International in Illinois
25. Memphis International in Tennessee
26. Miami International in Florida
27. Minneapolis/St Paul International in Minnesota
28. Oakland International in California
29. Ontario International in California
30. Chicago O`Hare International in Illinois
31. Portland International in Oregon
32. Philadelphia International in Pennsylvania
33. Phoenix Sky Harbor International in Arizona
34. San Diego International in California
35. Louisville International in Kentucky
36. Seattle/Tacoma International in Washington
37. San Francisco International in California
38. Salt Lake City International in Utah
39. Teterboro in New Jersey
40. Tampa International in Florida
