Travel misery at airports as FAA cuts lead to thousands of cancellations and delays

Among airports with the longest delays — almost all blamed on staffing — are those in the New York City region, according to Federal Aviation Administration advisories.

At LaGuardia in Queens, the average delay for a departing flight is more than 2 hours, 30 minutes, the FAA says. The airport said on X early today that an “increased number of travelers” would affect flight times.

It urged travelers to “allow extra time for on-airport travel, check-in and security.”

Newark Liberty International in New Jersey, subject of an FAA ground delay notice today, has an average flight delay of 2 hours, 14 minutes, and a maximum delay of 4 hours, 33 minutes, according to the FAA.

Teterboro Airport, also in New Jersey and 12 miles from New York City, has an average departure delay of more than 3 hours, 15 minutes, according to the FAA.

Westchester County Airport, about 30 miles north of the city, has an average departure delay of more than 1 hour, 30 minutes, though the FAA attributes this to traveler volume.

John F. Kennedy International Airport was not among the airports with the longest delays, but still has an average departure delay of more than an hour, FAA events postings show.

As of this evening, over 7,200 flights traveling into, from and within the U.S. have been delayed and almost 2,200 have been canceled, according to FlightAware.com.

Over 1,000 flights at Chicago O'Hare International Airport have been delayed and 320 have been canceled. At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport, over 580 flights have been delayed and almost 400 were canceled.

Video posted on TikTok showed long check-in lines at John F. Kennedy International Airport's Terminal 4 today.

Lines looping around the check-in desks could be seen at the terminal, where Delta, Emirates and KLM airlines operate their flights.

Southwest Airlines said it canceled more flights for Tuesday in order to satisfy the Federal Aviation Administration's flight reduction mandate triggered by the government shutdown.

"Sunday’s initial cancellations totaled 140. For Monday, we removed roughly 140 flights from the schedule, climbing to 155 on Tuesday to meet the FAA’s requirements," the airline said.

According to FlightAware.com, the airline has delayed over 1,560 flights so far today and canceled 151.

"The vast majority of our Customers’ flights will not be disrupted, and Southwest has contacted Customers with flight cancellations via the contact information they provided at booking," the airline said in a statement.

Southwest customers with flights through Wednesday can adjust their travel plans at no cost, the airline said.

Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he hopes the government shutdown will end before Thanksgiving.

"Donald Trump needs to get off the golf course and get back to the negotiating table," Jeffries said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Jeffries also said he would not vote to reopen the government in exchange for the promise of a vote on Obamacare subsidies. 

"I don’t think that the House Democratic Caucus is prepared to support a promise, a wing and a prayer, from folks who have been devastating the health care of the American people for years," he said.

Video posted to TikTok showed what one user called a very long TSA line at Orlando International Airport on Sunday morning.

"Longest TSA wait I’ve ever seen," the user wrote. "Thanks to the government shutdown, these lines are backed up BIG time. If you’re flying out of Orlando, get there way early."

Over 400 flights were delayed at the airport, and almost 60 were canceled by Sunday afternoon, according to FlightAware.com.

While all Federal Aviation Administration-ordered flight reductions through Tuesday have already been made, more delays and cancellations could be expected today, Delta Air Lines said in a statement.

Delta said staffing is the reason for the potential disruptions. The airline has already canceled 320 mainline and 150 connecting flights as of 12:00 p.m. ET today.

"Canceling a flight is always a last resort after all options have been exhausted," Delta said, adding that it's allowing customers to change, cancel or refund their flights without penalties.

Video posted to TikTok today showed a crowded terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

According to the video, the wait at the customs line exceeded three hours, regardless of Global Entry, and many flights were delayed or canceled.

Over 450 flights were delayed and 381 were canceled at the airport by this afternoon, according to FlightAware.com.

The U.S. could see negative economic impacts from reduced holiday travel, according to National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett.

"But the fact is that Thanksgiving time is one of the hottest times of the year for the economy," Hassett said on CBS' "Face the Nation" today. "It's, you know, Black Friday and all that kind of stuff. And if people aren't traveling at that moment, then we really could be looking at a negative quarter for the fourth quarter."

Earlier today, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said travel will be "reduced to a trickle" ahead of Thanksgiving, warning that many will not be able to spend the holiday with their families.

The travel of over 4 million passengers flying on Airlines for America (A4A) member airlines has been disrupted from the start of the government shutdown on Oct. 1 to Friday, according to the Airlines for America.

Airlines for America members include Delta, American, Alaska, JetBlue, Southwest and United Airlines.

"During the first 29 days of the shutdown, A4A member airlines canceled just 11 flights due to controller staffing issues; over the ensuing nine days, however, controller staffing issues caused them to cancel 1,271, including 865 on Nov. 7," the association said.

The association estimates that there will be a "daily U.S. economic impact of $285M-580M" when the Federal Aviation Administration-mandated flight reductions reach 10%.

"The estimate is tied solely to compliance with the flight-reduction directive; it does not include the ongoing staffing issues during the shutdown, the costs associated with the value of passenger time, reduced bookings, passenger refunds, etc.," the association said.

More than 4,200 flights traveling into, from and within the U.S. have been delayed, and 1,500 flights have been canceled as of Sunday afternoon, according to FlightAware.com.

Chicago O'Hare International Airport accounts for many of the delays, with over 600 flights delayed, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport accounts for most of the cancellations, with more than 320.

Southwest has delayed 1,030 flights so far today, and Delta has canceled almost 390.

U.S. airlines canceled more than 2,500 weekend flights by Saturday evening as the Federal Aviation Administration’s mandate to reduce air traffic because of the government shutdown showed no signs of easing.

The slowdown at many of the nation’s busiest airports did not cause immediate widespread disruptions. But it deepened the impact felt by the nation’s longest federal shutdown.

“We all travel. We all have somewhere to be,” said Emmy Holguin, 36, who was flying from Miami to see family in the Dominican Republic. “I’m hoping that the government can take care of this.”

Analysts warn that the upheaval will intensify and spread far beyond air travel if cancellations keep growing and reach into Thanksgiving week.

Already there are concerns about the squeeze on tourism destinations and holiday shipping.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that travel will be "reduced to a trickle" ahead of Thanksgiving, warning that many will not be able to spend the holiday with their families.

"We have a number of people who want to get home for the holidays, they want to see their family, they want to celebrate this great American holiday," Duffy said on CNN's "State of the Union." "Listen, many of them are not going to be able to get on an airplane, because there are not going to be that many flights that fly if this thing doesn’t open back up. We have controllers who, again, are making decisions to feed their families, as opposed to come to towers or TRACONs or centers and do their jobs."

Duffy added that he believes the number of people who will not be able to see their families for Thanksgiving "is going to be substantial."

The transportation also reiterated that the goal of the flight reduction is to ensure safety.

"The problem is that as I try to reduce the pressure by lowering flights, I have more controllers that keep not coming to work, and so the pressure goes back up again," he said. "And so I’m critically aware of that pressure of rising risk and trying to take that out of the system."

Staffing accounted for about 71% of total National Airspace System delay minutes yesterday, according to Airlines for America, which analyzed Federal Aviation Administration data.

"Staffing-related delay minutes exceeded 184,000 — the highest of the shutdown," the association said about yesterday's delays.

According to Airlines for America, the staffing issues have triggered "secondary impacts," including "late aircraft arrivals, crew legality issues, and equipment mispositioning." This is expected to get worse as the FAA-mandated flight reductions reach 10%.

"Unlike weather-driven disruptions that airlines prepare for and recover from, each controller shift change or facility staffing trigger adds hours of delay with no advance notice, undermining the airlines’ ability to plan, staff or protect customers," the association said.

NEW YORK — The Federal Aviation Administration’s announcement of a 10% reduction in flight capacity across 40 major U.S. airports could put a strain on air cargo as the peak holiday season approaches.

Several airports with major package distribution centers are on the list of airports that will reduce capacity — FedEx has hubs at the airports in Indianapolis and Memphis, Tennessee. UPS’ biggest hub, Worldport, is in Louisville, Kentucky, the site of this week’s deadly cargo plane crash.

Meanwhile, UPS and FedEx said late Friday they’re grounding their fleets of McDonnell Douglas MD-11 planes “out of an abundance of caution” following a deadly crash at the UPS global aviation hub in Kentucky.

The crash Tuesday at UPS Worldport in Louisville killed 14 people, including the three pilots on the MD-11, which was headed for Honolulu.

MD-11 aircraft make up about 9% of the UPS fleet and 4% of the FedEx fleet, the companies said.

Logistics companies say consumers shouldn’t expect delays on their packages due to the reduction in flights — for now. But they put a strain on the supply chain ahead of the all-important holiday shopping season.

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A ground delay has been issued at Newark Liberty International Airport due to staffing, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Departures to the airport are delayed by over two hours, while departures from the airport are delayed by about 15 minutes. The ground delay is expected to persist until midnight.

Departures from LaGuardia Airport are also delayed by about 15 minutes due to staffing.

As of this morning, over 1,300 flights traveling to, from and within the U.S. have been delayed and more than 1,200 have been canceled, according to FlightAware.com.

Delta accounts for most of the cancellations, with 293 canceled flights, and Southwest Airlines for most delays, with 233 delayed flights.

Almost 280 flights have been canceled at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and over 240 flights have been delayed at Chicago O'Hare International Airport today.