Traveling for Thanksgiving? It’s best to plan ahead and be flexible
Thanksgiving is the time of year when many people go to visit family, making travel difficult. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Travelers are already worried about their upcoming Thanksgiving travel plans as weekend flights were canceled at airports across the United States as the government shutdown continues.
It remains unclear how the flight reductions will affect one of the year’s busiest travel seasons, with weekend travelers facing delays and cancellations on Saturday, November 8. But the Federal Aviation Administration said flight cancellations could increase to 10% by Nov. 14.
The country’s airlines began a second day of flight reductions after Transport Secretary Sean Duffy announced on November 5 that flights would be cut by 4% initially at 40 major airports to ease pressure on the country’s air traffic controllers. Air traffic controllers are among the civil servants working without pay due to the government shutdown, now in its 39th day.
Airlines were expected to have fewer canceled flights on Saturday, November 8th than on Friday, November 7th, due to a reduction in overall traffic. If record closures continue, travelers could face a wave of flight cancellations, rising to 6% on Tuesday, Nov. 11, and could reach as much as 20%, Duffy said.
Thanksgiving travel could be ‘economically devastating’ due to government shutdown
Thanksgiving is traditionally the busiest holiday, and “the effects of a sustained shutdown will be immediate, deeply felt by millions of American travelers, and economically devastating for communities across states,” the U.S. Travel Association wrote in a Nov. 3 letter to Congressional leaders urging a resolution to the shutdown.
The travel industry had already lost more than $4 billion as of Nov. 3, the organization said, creating a ticker tallying the cost to the industry of closures, which had increased to $5.4 billion on Saturday, Nov. 8.
“Holiday travel spending generates billions of dollars in economic activity, supporting jobs, local tax sources, and small businesses across the country,” the group wrote. “If the shutdown continues, travel demand and spending will likely be severely curtailed, potentially posing a real threat to U.S. workers, businesses, and the entire economy.”
Was your flight delayed on Saturday?
Travelers whose flights were not canceled on Saturday, November 8th may still face delays. More than 4,200 flights were delayed in and out of the United States as of midday Saturday, according to aviation tracking service FlightAware.
Major airports typically had a quarter to a third of flights delayed, according to FlightAware. More than a dozen of 61 flights were delayed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as of 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 8. Meanwhile, 94 out of 131 flights, or about 72%, were delayed at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
Among those facing travel issues: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) posted on X on Saturday, Nov. 9, “Due to flight delays and cancellations, I took an Amtrak train from Washington DC to Georgia. The people running the trains are the kindest people.”
How severe can flight delays be?
Similar to the 2019 grounding, reports of air traffic controller sick leave may further increase, further heightening concerns about worsening flight delays.
The FAA announced on Friday, Nov. 7, that it is experiencing staffing shortages at 10 locations across the country, potentially increasing the potential for delays.
Aside from cancellations, the absence of air traffic controllers on Friday forced the FAA to delay hundreds of flights at 10 airports, including Atlanta, San Francisco, Houston, Phoenix, Washington, D.C., and Newark. More than 5,600 flights were delayed on November 7th.
Earlier this week, FAA Administrator Brian Bedford said 20 to 40 percent of air traffic controllers are not at work on any given day.
Are air traffic controllers still working during the shutdown?
yes. Air traffic controllers are considered essential employees and have been working without pay since the federal government shutdown began on October 1. 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration employees work without pay.
Some airlines have expressed concern that air traffic controllers may not be brave enough to come to work because of reduced flights.
Which airlines are canceling the most flights?
United Airlines announced it would be cutting 168 flights on Nov. 8, down from 184 on Friday, Nov. 7, and Southwest Airlines said it would cancel just under 100 flights, down from 120. American Airlines announced it would cut approximately 220 flights per day. Delta did not release the number of canceled flights, but directed media to FlightAware, which listed Delta’s 52 canceled flights on Saturday, 55 on Sunday, and 50 on Monday.
More than 1,000 flights in and out of the United States had been canceled as of Saturday afternoon, according to FlightAware.
Which airports have reduced flights?
Airports with reduced flights include Anchorage International (ANC) to Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW), Miami International (MIA), and Boston Logan International (BLI). See the complete list here.
What if my flight is canceled due to a government shutdown?
If a flight is canceled, the airline may contact travelers in advance. Scott Keyes, founder of the cheap flight site Going, recently told USA TODAY that if your flight is canceled, you may want to call the airline’s international phone line because domestic flights may be busy.
It also recommends using the airline’s mobile app to rebook canceled flights yourself.
Federal regulations allow airline passengers to receive a full refund if their flight is canceled or significantly delayed and they choose not to rebook.
If you want to avoid potential delays or cancellations, some airlines offer waivers that allow travelers to change flights without paying change fees or fare differences. Major airlines, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines, have implemented exemptions related to flight reductions.
Contributors: Nathan Diller, Bart Jansen, James Powel, Jeanine Santucci, Zach Wichter, USA TODAY, Reuters
