FAA announces flight reductions, leaving travelers worried about flights
The FAA will cut flights at 40 major airports by 10% to compensate for the shortage of air traffic controllers during the government shutdown.
On November 8, American travelers entered their second day of government-mandated flight cancellations, with warnings of further flight reductions looming, and many travelers are worried about the fate of their flights home and vacation plans.
While some disruptions and delays were reported on the first day of reduced flights, the outlook for the next few days is less uncertain, with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy indicating more flight cancellations are likely if the government shutdown continues.
As Scott Wolf and his wife, Madeline Nicholson, prepared to board a Nov. 7 flight from Chicago in time for their sister’s rehearsal dinner and wedding, the couple worried about returning home on Nov. 9 and what would happen during their upcoming vacation.
“Why don’t we just get it done today and get home on time?” Wolf said of the closure.
Airlines announced hundreds of fewer flights on the first day of reductions, and airports warned of long wait times and delays. Travelers shared with USA TODAY Network their fears of being stranded or missing important events due to traffic restrictions. In the Nov. 7 case, the woman ended up at a different airport several hours away from her original destination after her original flight was canceled and she rebooked to take a different route home.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy originally announced that the first round of 4% cuts would begin on November 7th at 40 airports across the country, increasing to 6% by November 11th, 8% by November 13th, and 10% by November 14th.
But Duffy said on Nov. 7 that number could rise to 15% or even 20% of all scheduled flights as the record government shutdown drags on and air traffic controllers are working without pay, adding “strain” to the system.
The good news for weekend travelers is that there will be fewer flight reductions over the weekend, as air traffic is generally lower on weekends.
Here’s what you need to know as the airline chaos enters its second day.
On Nov. 7, Frontier Airport passenger Mary Katherine Barnett, 57, who was waiting curbside at the Denver airport for a friend to pick her up, said her morning flight from Tampa departed without incident, other than a long security line. But she’s growing concerned about Thanksgiving plans. Her three adult children will fly into North Carolina through Charlotte, which is on the list of airports subject to mandatory flight reductions.
“For me, if I end up staying an extra day, it’s not a big deal. But I’m concerned about vacation travel,” she said. “And I’m worried about the families who can’t afford to stay somewhere else another day.”
Nicholson said at O’Hare Airport that if the government doesn’t reopen and flight schedules aren’t restored in time, “Thanksgiving is going to be a massacre.”
-Trevor Hughes, Michael Loria, Carissa Wadick, Josh Rivera
Louisville residents April and Jeff Weihe took off from Louisville’s airport on the morning of November 7th for a vacation to Iceland that they had been planning for more than a year.
The couple was already nervous about flying during a shutdown, but the recent FAA order exacerbated those concerns.
“This past week, we were in complete panic. We were like, ‘Oh my God, are we really going to make it?'” April Weihe said.
The couple had contingency plans in place, including driving to Chicago to catch a connecting flight or, if all else fails, taking a backup road trip to Asheville, North Carolina.
But as of noon on Nov. 7, they were about to accomplish their bucket list goal of seeing the Northern Lights.
-Matthew Glowiecki, Louisville Courier-Journal
Airlines canceled hundreds of flights on Nov. 7, the first day of the flight reduction order, and are planning more cancellations over the weekend. The flight reductions began at 6 a.m. ET on Nov. 7, with a total of about 700 flights cut by the four major airlines: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines.
American Airlines told Reuters that 220 flights were canceled on November 7, affecting 12,000 passengers. The airline said it rerouted most flights within hours.
Southwest Airlines, which announced it would cut more than 100 flights at 34 airports on Nov. 7 and dozens more on Nov. 8, said it expects the second day of flight reductions to affect fewer than 100 flights, adding that the “vast majority” of its customers’ flights “will not be disrupted.”
Delta Air Lines announced on November 7 that approximately 170 flights were canceled. The airline says it typically operates about 5,000 flights per day.
In California alone, more than 120 flights were canceled and nearly 400 were delayed on Nov. 7, according to the USA TODAY Network’s Palm Springs Desert Sun.
If your flight is cancelled, you are entitled to a refund
Duffy and Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Brian Bedford said airlines must issue full refunds but do not have to cover secondary costs, which is standard procedure when flight cancellations are not the airline’s fault.
Federal regulations allow airline passengers to receive a full refund if their flight is canceled or significantly delayed and they choose not to rebook.
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.
– N’Dare Yancey Bragg
‘I shouldn’t be here’: Cancellations derail travel plans
Carrie Driscoll unexpectedly found herself in Indianapolis on the morning of November 7th, on her way home to her northern Kentucky suburb outside of Cincinnati.
“I shouldn’t be here,” she told IndyStar, part of the USA TODAY Network.
When Driscoll’s two-leg trip home from Fort Lauderdale from Chicago to Cincinnati was canceled by American Airlines, Driscoll, a former travel advisor, wisely found a flight from Miami to Indianapolis.
“I spent 12 hours from Chicago to O’Hare and was worried that I might never get home,” she said. “That’s why I changed it.”
After landing in Indianapolis, Driscoll worked on his laptop and waited for his mother-in-law to pick him up for the two-hour trip back to northern Kentucky.
-Alissa Guffey, Indianapolis Star
The FAA has selected the following airports to experience a gradual increase in cancellations:
- ANC – Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport
- ATL – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
- boss – Boston Logan International Airport
- BWI – Baltimore/Washington International Airport
- CLT – Charlotte Douglas International Airport
- CVG – Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
- Dal – Dallas Love Field
- DCA – Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
- that – Denver International Airport
- DFW – Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
- DTW – Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
- EEA – Newark Liberty International Airport
- FLL – Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport
- HRT – Honolulu International Airport
- new – William P. Hobby Airport
- they are – Washington Dulles International Airport
- IAH – George Bush Houston Intercontinental Airport
- India – Indianapolis International Airport
- John F. Kennedy – New York John F. Kennedy International Airport
- Russ – Las Vegas McCarran International Airport
- LAX – Los Angeles International Airport
- local government – New York LaGuardia Airport
- M.C.O. – Orlando International Airport
- MDW – Chicago Midway International Airport
- Mem – Memphis International Airport
- mia – Miami International Airport
- MSP – Minneapolis – St. Paul International Airport
- oak – Auckland International Airport
- ont – Ontario International Airport
- ode – Chicago O’Hare International Airport
- PDX – Portland International Airport
- PHL – Philadelphia International Airport
- PHX – Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
- sun – San Diego International Airport
- Self-Defense Forces – Louisville International Airport
- sea – Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
- SFO – San Francisco International Airport
- SLC – Salt Lake City International Airport
- TEB – Teterboro Airport
- TPA – Tampa International Airport
Mark Ramirez, Kathleen Wong. Reuters
