Airlines have canceled hundreds of flights since Nov. 7 after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy ordered travel reductions due to air traffic control staffing cuts during the shutdown.
WASHINGTON – The travel industry’s woes are the latest trigger in the longest government shutdown in history, as airlines cancel hundreds of flights and advocacy groups warn of $5 billion in losses for the travel industry.
American Airlines’ CEO said the increase in cancellations “will be a problem.” Airport advocates said air travel is “reaching breaking point.” And the U.S. Travel Association has created a ticker that tallies the costs of shutting down the industry, which as of Nov. 7 were more than $5 billion.
“If Thanksgiving is completely ruined because of their politics, no party wins. Everyone loses,” said John Sununu, CEO of Airlines for America, an advocacy group with 27,000 daily flights and 2.7 million travelers. “They better take action and solve this problem.”
Travel is one of the industries hardest hit by the shutdown. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been furloughed, drawing attention to the loss of services at national parks and elsewhere. The threat of eliminating SNAP food benefits sparked protests that low-income households were going hungry.
But while business trips and vacations with nowhere to go go away, traffic congestion at airports is very noticeable, especially as the holidays approach. Airline group Airlines for America said in a statement on Nov. 7 that 3.5 million passengers experienced flight delays or cancellations due to air traffic control staffing concerns.
“This is simply not sustainable,” the group said, projecting a record 31 million passengers during the Thanksgiving holiday period from Nov. 21 to Dec. 1. “We urge Congress to act with extreme urgency to reopen the federal government, pay federal workers, and return airspace to normal operations. Time is of the essence.”
“We have reached a breaking point and our current trajectory is unsustainable,” Kevin Burke, CEO of the Airports Council of North America, said on November 5.
Congress remains deadlocked after 38 days over how to fund the government. Essential workers, including about 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration employees, continue to work without pay.
However, the number of absentees is increasing, raising safety concerns.
Transport Secretary Sean Duffy has ordered airlines to reduce flights starting this weekend. The announcement served as a warning about how the pain will grow if the government shutdown continues, and as a reason to advocate for reopening.
“This is not political,” Duffy told Breitbart News Agency on Nov. 7. “We have been working overtime to minimize the impact on the American people.”
Mr Duffy ordered a 4% reduction in flights starting Nov. 7, but if the shutdown continues, that will increase to 6% on Nov. 11 and 10% on Nov. 14. He said the cancellations could cost airlines tens of millions of dollars.
“This level of cancellations is going to increase over time, and it’s going to be a problem,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom told CNBC on Nov. 7.
The leaders of the four largest U.S. airlines (American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines) met with Vice President J.D. Vance at the White House on October 30 to emphasize the need to end the shutdown, but with no results. But the flight cancellation announcement has put the issue in the spotlight.
American Airlines announced that it will reduce its flights by 220 daily from November 7th to November 10th. United Airlines canceled more than 180 flights on November 7th, nearly 170 flights on November 8th, and nearly 160 flights on November 9th. Southwest Airlines canceled 120 flights on November 7th, but expects to have fewer than 100 flights on November 8th.
Airline passenger Sandy Humes told Reuters she almost canceled her trip due to flight instability.
“I’m sick of it,” Humes said. “What about us?”
Contributed by: Reuters
