Trump administration cuts more than 1,000 flights as government shutdown hits travel hard
Trump administration reduces flights at 40 major airports during ongoing government shutdown
U.S. airlines cancelled more than 1,000 flights and delayed more than 3,000 others on Friday as passengers scrambled to rejig their schedules after Donald Trump’s administration ordered flight reductions at major airports.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy ordered 10 percent flight cuts to start Friday at 40 U.S. airports, including those in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, citing safety issues and staff shortages during the ongoing government shutdown.
That chaos could run into Thanksgiving even if the shutdown ends in the coming days, according to Duffy. Industry groups project a record 31 million passengers traveling in the days leading up to and after the holiday.
The cuts hit hundreds of thousands of travelers with little notice. By late Thursday, more than 800 flights had already been canceled, and analysts estimated the reductions could ultimately mean 1,800 daily flights are scrapped.
As carriers struggle to adjust, United Airlines pledged it would do “everything we can to minimize disruptions to your travel plans” and was avoiding cancelations for long-haul international flights.
American Airlines said it was still awaiting further information from the Federal Aviation Administration as to how its flights would be affected while Delta Air Lines said it expected the majority of its flights to operate as planned.
Good morning
Hello and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of Friday’s expected travel chaos across major U.S. airports after the Trump administration ordered 10 percent reductions in flights from major airports due to a shortage of air traffic controllers caused by the ongoing government shutdown.
Major flight cancellations hit airports as Trump administration cuts services over government shutdown
Airports across the U.S. are bracing for chaos as cuts to flight schedules made by the Federal Aviation Administration come into effect amid the ongoing government shutdown, now the longest in American history.
By late Thursday over 800 flights within and in and out of the U.S. had already been canceled for Friday according to flight-tracking site FlightAware.com.
Around 200 flights were canceled Thursday as airports and passengers prepared to bear the brunt of the measures.
It comes after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the FAA announced that 40 of the country’s busiest airports across two dozen states, including New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago, would be phasing in a 10 percent reduction in their flight schedules.
The disruptions will affect service at many smaller airports too and some travelers had already started changing or canceling their itineraries.
Here’s Mike Bedigan and Rhian Lubin to set the scene.
Major flight cancellations hit as airports comply with cuts over shutdown
Watch: Transportation secretary announces flight reductions at 40 major U.S. airports
Here’s Sean Duffy’s announcement Wednesday about the cutbacks, which he had warned were coming without a resolution to the government shutdown being forged by lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
The deadlock became the longest in U.S. history earlier this week and is now into its 38th day, surpassing the 35-dayer in 2018/2019 during President Donald Trump’s first term.
The ‘Core 30’ airports expected to bear the brunt of travel disruption
At his press conference Wednesday, Secretary Duffy said the decision to slash schedules was paramount for safe air travel amid pressure on air traffic controllers, who “are under immense stress and fatigue.”
He said the decision “had not been taken lightly” ahead of the busy Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday travel season and named the FAA’s “Core 30” airports that are likely to be hardest hit by flight cancellations, which are listed below:
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Intl (ATL)
- Boston Logan Intl (BOS)
- Baltimore/Washington Intl (BWI)
- Charlotte Douglas Intl (CLT)
- Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA)
- Denver Intl (DEN)
- Dallas/Fort Worth Intl (DFW)
- Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW)
- Newark Liberty Intl (EWR)
- Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Intl (FLL)
- Honolulu Intl (HNL)
- Washington Dulles Intl (IAD)
- George Bush Houston Intercontinental (IAH)
- New York John F Kennedy Intl (JFK)
- Las Vegas McCarran Intl (LAS)
- Los Angeles Intl (LAX)
- New York LaGuardia (LGA)
- Orlando Intl (MCO)
- Chicago Midway (MDW)
- Memphis Intl (MEM)
- Miami Intl (MIA)
- Minneapolis/St Paul Intl (MSP)
- Chicago O`Hare Intl (ORD)
- Philadelphia Intl (PHL)
- Phoenix Sky Harbor Intl (PHX)
- San Diego Intl (SAN)
- Seattle/Tacoma Intl (SEA)
- San Francisco Intl (SFO)
- Salt Lake City Intl (SLC)
- Tampa Intl (TPA)
What are your rights if your flight gets canceled during the shutdown?
Here’s Kelly Rissman on what passengers can do if they find themselves caught up in the anticipated chaos this weekend.
What are your rights if your flight gets canceled during government shutdown?
In pictures: Passengers queue at George Bush Intercontinental in Houston
This was the scene in Texas yesterday as the problems first began to become apparent.
How the major airlines are handling the flight reduction order
In line with the federal directive, American Airlines has said it will reduce its schedules by 4 percent across 40 airports, amounting to around 220 flights canceled each day from Friday through Monday.
The vast majority of these cancellations are for regional flights, allowing the airline to maintain approximately 6,000 daily flights and minimize customer impact, it said.
Delta Air Lines announced the cancellation of about 170 U.S. flights on Friday, with fewer expected on Saturday due to lower travel volume. The carrier normally operates 5,000 daily flights globally.
United Airlines said it plans to cut 4 percent of its flights Friday through Sunday, resulting in less than 200 daily cancellations. The Chicago-based airline operates around 4,500 flights a day. Southwest Airlines will cancel about 120 flights on Friday.
Alaska Airlines has begun canceling a limited number of flights from Friday. The carrier said that most cancellations would affect high-frequency routes, allowing the majority of customers to be re-accommodated with minimal disruption.
Discount carrier Frontier said most of its flights would operate as planned, though in a LinkedIn post its CEO Barry Biffle advised customers traveling to funerals or other critical events over the next 10 days to book backup tickets on different airlines.
Newark Liberty International Airport suffering more than three hour flight delays
Passengers arriving at the troubled New Jersey airport late Thursday were facing average delays of at least three and a half hours, The New York Post reports.
“Tomorrow is gonna be a nightmare,” one Newark Airport worker told the newspaper last night. “Tomorrow, the FAA will just shut down. Get out while you can.”
One stranded flyer trying to get home to Miami told the Post: “The flight was delayed one time. A second time, three times. And now I just got here. My connecting flight to D.C. has left, so now I gotta figure out what to do. Pay for a hotel, or probably drive myself to D.C.
“I don’t know what to do, this is my first time experiencing this, so I don’t know. I’m kind of shocked that I’m standing here by myself.”
Several busy East Coast airports, including Newark and New York’s John F Kennedy International and LaGuardia, are expected to be impacted by cancellations and delays on Friday.
Shutdown disruption will have ‘long-term impact’
An aviation expert has been telling Audie Cornish on CNN that the present upheaval could have lasting consequences for the industry, suggesting that people may think twice about careers as air traffic controllers if this level of disorder becomes the norm.
Air traffic controllers under pressure but officials insist it is safe to fly
In ordering its unprecedented flight cuts this week, the FAA cited a safety assessment of air traffic controllers but officials insisted the public should not be concerned and that it is safe to travel.
“It’s safe to fly today, and it will continue to be safe to fly next week,” Sean Duffy said.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford reiterated that message Thursday, saying that the agency would not hesitate to take further action to make sure air travel remains safe.
During the closure, 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 security screeners have been forced to work without pay.
Absenteeism has risen to 30 percent or more at some airports as their workers turn to second jobs to feed their families or are unable to afford childcare.
But even before the shutdown, the FAA was already short of about 3,500 air traffic controllers, and many were working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks.
Airlines have estimated that at least 3.2 million travelers have already been delayed during the shutdown.
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