The plight faced by Americans at airports nationwide is anticipated to escalate this week if Congress fails to strike a deal to end the government shutdown. U.S. airlines axed over 1,500 flights on Saturday and more than 2,900 on Sunday to adhere to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) directive for traffic reduction, due to some unpaid air traffic controllers not reporting for duty for almost a month.
As of early Monday, airlines had already scrapped close to 1,600 flights for Monday and nearly 1,000 for Tuesday. Monday marked the fourth consecutive day with cancellations exceeding 1,000, compounded by a November winter storm in Chicago causing further havoc to air travel.
The Senate took an initial step towards resolving the shutdown on Sunday, but final approval may be days away, with experts cautioning that flight operations may not return to normal immediately even after the government reopens.
Numerous airports are experiencing significant delays for flights that are not cancelled, with Newark, Orlando, Chicago, and Detroit airports facing departure delays exceeding an hour and worsening, according to FlightAware. This marks the second pay period where air traffic controllers have received no compensation for their work.
The FAA enforced a four percent mandatory flight reduction over the weekend to manage staffing shortages, set to escalate to six percent by Tuesday and ten percent by the upcoming weekend. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy mentioned on Fox News Sunday that additional flight cuts of up to 20 percent might be necessary due to controllers’ absence.
The ongoing shortage of air traffic controllers, exacerbated by the shutdown, has led to an acceleration in retirements, worsening an existing long-term shortage. The reduction in flights, although seemingly modest at four percent, is particularly impacting 40 of the nation’s busiest and most congested airports, deemed necessary by the FAA to ensure traveler safety.
Failure to address the situation promptly could worsen as the U.S. approaches the busy holiday travel season, potentially resulting in a significant decrease in air travel by the week of American Thanksgiving.
