How to prepare for Department of Transportation flight reductions during government shutdown
USA TODAY’s Nathan Diller has travel tips to survive DOT’s reduced flights during the government shutdown.
- Travelers should expect continued flight cancellations and delays this week, even if the government shutdown ends.
- Experts say it will take several days for airline operations to return to normal after the grounding due to the evacuation of crews and aircraft.
- Travelers are advised to check flight status, arrive at the airport early and consider purchasing travel insurance.
The government shutdown could end as early as this week after the Senate voted to move forward with a temporary deal, but travelers with flights scheduled in the next few days should still brace for cancellations and delays.
Tiffany Funk, co-founder and president of point.me, which specializes in points-based travel, said: “We can expect some very bumpy operations and a pretty tough travel experience, at least through this week.” “Even if funding magically came back today, it would take a long time to reset this.”
Here’s what hopeful travelers need to know.
This week’s predictions
Thousands of flights have been suspended since the Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to reduce operations at 40 U.S. airports to deal with a shortage of air traffic controllers.
The reduction rate was scheduled to start at 4% on Nov. 7 and gradually slide to 10% by Nov. 14, but some airports have already significantly exceeded that since the cuts began.
“We have an out-of-place aircraft, an out-of-place crew, an out-of-place pilot,” Funk said. “And unlike storms and hurricanes, this is impacting all types of airports.”
“Maintenance will also be a factor,” said Robert Mann, a former airline executive and current president of independent aviation consultancy RW Mann & Company. “The longer the shutdown lasts, the more aircraft will not be properly transported for needed maintenance. You can’t put an aircraft back into service without an airworthiness test. That’s job number one. Getting the aircraft back for profit is job number two,” added Robert Mann, a former airline executive who is now president of RW Mann & Company, an independent aviation consultancy.
It’s not a quick fix.
When will flights return to normal?
“The pace of recovery will likely vary by airport and airline, and will often unfold on a case-by-case basis over several days after a formal resolution,” Ahmed Abdelghani, associate dean for research at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s David B. O’Malley School of Business, told USA TODAY in an email.
Furthermore, the problem of a shortage of air traffic controllers still remains.
“The FAA has clearly had issues with attendance for air traffic controllers, who have been required to work six days a week and in some cases overtime for years, even before the pandemic,” Mann said.
“Do we think all air traffic controllers won’t be rehired and will just come back ready to work 60 or 80 hours a week? Probably not,” Funk echoed.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Nov. 9, “Previously before the shutdown, we were retiring about four air traffic controllers a day. Now we’re up to 15 to 20 controllers retiring a day. So it’s going to be difficult to get more controllers to come back and control the airspace after the shutdown. So that’s going to continue in the air travel industry well beyond the period of this administration’s reopening.”
The FAA is hiring and training new air traffic controllers, but Mann noted that this is a time-consuming process, with high turnover and a lot of stress.
What should travelers do?
In the meantime, Abdelghani encouraged travelers to constantly monitor flight status through airlines’ mobile apps and websites and arrive at the airport “well in advance” in case of long waits at security. He said if flyers are able to travel at another time, it’s worth considering rebooking options or taking out travel insurance that will cover some of the cost if something goes wrong.
“This continued volatile situation may lead to further disruption, especially within high-traffic hubs. We therefore recommend that travelers remain flexible and prepared when planning their travels,” he said.
If you don’t need to travel right away, consider postponing your trip.
“As a very frequent traveler (I’ve been to 100 countries and own a travel company), my recommendation is to stay home this week,” Funk said. “It’s going to be stressful, and most people aren’t prepared for that kind of stress to be built into their trip. ”
