What we know
- More than 1,000 flights have been canceled as reductions take effect today at 40 high-traffic airports, in what officials say is an attempt to relieve pressure amid the record-long government shutdown.
- Federal Aviation Administrator Bryan Bedford has said the unprecedented move is the result of "fatigue" plaguing air traffic controllers, who have been working without pay since the start of the government shutdown, now in its second month.
- The FAA-mandated flight cancellations mean a 4% reduction in operations today. It will ramp up to 6% by Nov. 11, 8% by Nov. 13, and up to 10% by Nov. 14.
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said today that the end of the government shutdown would not immediately restore air traffic controllers because it will take time for them all to return to work.
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In Houston, prep and warnings keeping things running smoothly
Passengers in Houston arrived at the airport expecting to be greeted by chaos because of the FAA-mandated reduction in flights, but have been surprised by how smoothly things were running.
It may be because passengers with cancelled flights were warned early and rebooked on other flights so didn't showed up to the airport today, or it could be that they were warned of long waits at TSA security checkpoints and arrived plenty early.
Denver airport wants to temporarily pay controllers, get reimbursed
Officials announced they had asked the Federal Aviation Administration for a waiver to use airport revenue to pay controllers Wednesday after the FAA announced plans to reduce air traffic at the nation’s busiest airports.
“As part of our airport family, it’s our hope that we can reduce the hardship on them by covering their wages during the shutdown, with reimbursement by the FAA later,” Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington said in a statement. The airport didn’t immediately respond to a request for an update today.
The airport has also created a food pantry for controllers and its other federal employees, like Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection workers, because of the government shutdown.
Government shutdown is longest in history
The partial government shutdown is the longest shutdown in U.S. history, with air traffic controllers among those employees working without pay.
The record as the nation’s longest was broken Wednesday, on the 36th day of the shutdown that began on Oct. 1.
Before that, the longest government shutdown was a 35-day shutdown from Dec. 22, 2018, until Jan. 25, 2019. That stemmed from a fight over funding for President Donald Trump’s border wall.
This shutdown is over health insurance subsidies on the Affordable Care Act market, which without action will expire at the end of the year and raise costs for consumers.
Senate Democrats want the subsidies and talks on other issues, and Republicans have refused to extend the subsidies as part of continuing to fund the government and are calling for a “clean” resolution.
American Airlines customers should know by now if their weekend flight is canceled
That’s because the carrier has already identified the roughly 220 daily flights it will cut through Monday, Chief Operating Officer David Seymour said.
“We’re going to notify all of our customers if their flight is disrupted,” he said, so if you haven’t heard from the airline, then your flight is “going to go.”
Seymour says the airline is now working on finalizing its reduced schedule for the remainder of next week, when it is expected to slowly increase the number of cancellations to reach the FAA’s target of 10%.
Here’s a breakdown of canceled flights by airline
- United Airlines canceled 184 flights today, 168 flights tomorrow, 158 for Sunday and 190 for Monday. The airline operates 4,500 flights daily.
- American, which runs 6,000 daily fights, canceled 220 each day for today through Monday.
- Southwest, which operates 4,000 daily flights, canceled 120 flights today, just under 100 flights tomorrow and 150 for Sunday
- Delta did not disclose a daily breakdown of axed flights.
No matter what happens with shutdown, holiday headaches are likely
Flying anywhere for the Thanksgiving holiday is likely to be tortuous for legions of travelers — even if the government shutdown ends today, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned today.
Hundreds of flights during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year could be affected by staffing shortages of air traffic controllers. The shortages have been exacerbated by the shutdown, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration to implement unprecedented flight reductions.
And those staff shortages — at least for now — appear to be set in stone for Thanksgiving, Duffy said.
“So if the government opens on Day 1, will I see an immediate response from controllers? No, the union is telling me it’s going to take time to get them all back in,” Duffy told CNN today when asked if the flight reductions would spill into the holiday.
Some go for alternative options to avoid flight disruptions
Jonathan Welle, 39, traveled 11 hours on the train to avoid flying to Washington D.C. from Cleveland, Ohio, for a work trip earlier this week.
Welle, who helps develop cooperative small businesses, opted to fly back to save time, only to have two flights canceled: the first last night and then the second on the rebooked flight this morning.
“I realized that if I had just taken the train at the original time, I would have been home sooner, more reliably,” Welle said.
Luckily, American Airlines notified him of the changes before he left for the airport.
But he said the experience is making him reconsider his honeymoon in Vietnam later this month — a trip that he and his partner have waited a year for. The pair rarely travels and afforded the trip through generous gifts from wedding guests.
“I’m concerned about what this new normal could mean,” Welle said.
Chart: More than 1,000 flights canceled so far today
More than 1,000 U.S. flights have been canceled today, according to FlightAware.
Sisters' long-planned family trip canceled amid FAA's flight reductions
Caitlin Ladner, 31, was scheduled to fly from Madison, Wisconsin, to Raleigh, North Carolina, on Saturday to surprise her family — until her travel plans were canceled due to the ongoing government shutdown.
Ladner received a notification from the United Airlines app on Thursday addressing the FAA's flight reductions, she told NBC News.
Ladner posted a TikTok about her canceled plans on Thursday.
"The U.S. government plans to restrict flights due to the ongoing federal government shutdown," the notification said. "Our schedule changes for Friday, November 7 and Saturday, November 8 are now in place."
The notification directed Ladner to check her flight status to see if it was affected. She found that the Chicago O’Hare International Airport — at which she had a scheduled connection — was one of the affected airports. She was given the option to reschedule or cancel her flight, and she decided to cancel because of everything that’s “up in the air” right now.
If she didn't have the United app, she probably would have shown up for her flight on Saturday, Ladner told NBC News, adding that she had called the airline on Wednesday to confirm her flight's status.
"The funny thing about it is, I had literally called on Wednesday and asked them if there was any changes," Ladner stated. She was told she "should be fine" as long as she shows up 90 minutes to two hours before her flight.
She told NBC that her 24-year-old sister was also scheduled to fly with United Airlines this weekend and had the "same exact experience."
Ladner's sister had a flight booked from Tulsa, OK to Raleigh, NC and also decided to cancel when United presented her with the option of rescheduling or canceling her flight.
Over 3,500 flights delayed and 950 canceled
As of this afternoon, over 3,500 flights traveling to, from and within the U.S. have been delayed and over 950 were canceled, according to FlightAware.com.
Delays and cancelations have been seen in all 40 high-traffic airports today, including Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, with almost 300 delays and 125 cancelations, and Chicago O'Hare International Airport, with more than 325 delays and almost 90 cancelations.
