Airports across the United States started cutting back on thousands of flights early Friday after the record-long government shutdown caused staffing shortages.
Airlines scrambled to meet demands and began canceling flights overnight in anticipation of the FAA’s order, while travelers with bookings this weekend waited anxiously to learn whether they would take off on time.
More than 780 flights scheduled for today have already been called off nationwide, according to FlightAware, and many more are expected to be scrapped.
Delta Air Lines said it would scratch roughly 170 flights Friday, and American Airlines planned to cut 220 a day through Monday.
Republican leaders expressed hope they could get a deal done at some point this weekend, with President Donald Trump pressuring the GOP to get the government back up and running.
Trump told Republican senators during a breakfast meeting at the White House Wednesday that ‘we must get the government back open soon and really immediately.’
The president has threatened a ‘nuclear option’ to eliminate the filibuster and allow the GOP to reopen the government with a simple majority and no Democrat votes.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has publicly stated he’s against that idea.
Thune said he believes he has a plan to get Democrats on board to end what is now the longest shutdown in US history at over 37 days.
If the plan fails, Senate leadership is set to keep members of both parties in Washington through the weekend in an attempt to finally get a deal done.
While millions remain concerned about the continuation of SNAP benefits for 42million Americans, panic has set in about the ‘unholy mess’ set to take place at airports.
The FAA said the reductions would start at four percent and ramp up to ten percent by November 14. They are to be in effect between 6am and 10pm and impact all commercial airlines.
The agency said the cutbacks are necessary to relieve pressure on air traffic controllers who have been working without pay for more than a month.
Many are pulling six-day work weeks with mandatory overtime, and increasing numbers of them have begun calling out as the financial strain and exhaustion mount.
Airlines said they would try to minimize impact on customers. Some planned to focus on slashing routes to and from small and medium-size cities.
Carriers are required to refund customers whose flights are canceled but not to cover secondary costs such as food and hotel accommodations unless a delay or cancellation results from a contributing factor that is within the control of the airlines, according to the Department of Transportation.
The cuts could also slow package service as two airports on the list are major distribution centers for delivery companies: FedEx in Memphis, Tennessee, and UPS in Louisville, Kentucky, the site of this week´s deadly cargo plane crash.
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.
In some metropolitan areas, including New York, Houston, Chicago and Washington, multiple airports will be impacted.
