US airlines cancel Friday flights, more coming as shutdown drags on

With more than 700 Friday flights already cancelled by the four largest airlines, the world's busiest aviation market has become a flashpoint in the long-simmering clash between Republicans, Democrats

By Allyson Versprille, Lucia Kassai and Miranda Davis

 

Airlines across the US have started canceling flights scheduled for the coming days, as the longest government shutdown in history disrupts air travel and leaves thousands of passengers scrambling to firm up plans.

 

With more than 700 Friday flights already cancelled by the four largest airlines, the world’s busiest aviation market has become a flashpoint in the long-simmering clash between Republicans and Democrats over federal funding, with President Donald Trump ramping up pressure to forge a deal. 

 

The Republican-led administration has said the reductions are necessary to keep flying safe amid staffing shortages brought on by the shutdown, while at least one top congressional Democrat has called for more transparency to ensure the move isn’t politically motivated.

 

 

The US Transportation Department and Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday that they would order airlines to cut 10 per cent of flight capacity across 40 major airports in an effort to relieve pressure on the aviation system. The plan was unveiled by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. 

 

“With continued delays and unpredictable staffing shortages, which are driving fatigue, risk is further increasing, and the FAA is concerned with the system’s ability to maintain the current volume of operations,” the agency said in an emergency order released Thursday evening to implement the plan. 

 

The order requires airlines to cut total daily domestic operations by 4 per cent starting Friday, 6 per cent Tuesday, 8 per cent Thursday and 10 per cent by the following Friday. The reductions apply to flights between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. local time at each airport. 

 

Flights in and out of the largest US airports are affected, according to a list included in the order. That includes the New York-area airports of LaGuardia, Newark and John F. Kennedy, as well as hubs in Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver and Atlanta. 

 

United Airlines Holdings Inc. announced its plans to implement the 4 per cent cut for flights scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, which it said translated to fewer than 200 flights per day. 

 

Omar Idris, United’s vice president of airport operations in Chicago, said the airline intends to cut additional flights over the next week to hit the 10 per cent target by next Friday.

 

Delta Air Lines Inc. said it was canceling about 170 flights for Friday, American Airlines Group Inc. cut 220 flights each day through Monday and Southwest Airlines Co. said it was removing roughly 120 flights from its schedule for Friday. 

 

The reductions don’t apply to international flights. The FAA’s order does, however, ban commercial space launches and reentries during certain hours beginning Monday. The order also allows FAA facilities to elect not to provide some air traffic control services when there isn’t adequate staff. 

 

The big four airlines, which are exposed to the largest hubs in the country, should be the most impacted in November and December, according to a report from Sheila Kahyaoglu, an analyst with Jefferies.

 

The 10 per cent cut implies American Airlines, Delta, Southwest, and United will have to trim overall seat capacity by roughly 6 per cent.

 

“We expect the vast majority of our customers’ travel will be unaffected, and long-haul international travel will remain as scheduled,” American Airlines said in a statement. “As schedule changes are made, we’ll proactively reach out to customers who are impacted.”

 

United Airlines has also said that it will focus reductions on regional and domestic mainline flights that don’t travel between its primary hubs. 

 

Lawmakers Weigh In 

The government wants to act quickly because it has already detected signs of strain in the US aviation system as the shutdown drags on, Bedford said during Wednesday’s press conference.

 

“Shutting down parts of our National Airspace System is a dramatic and unprecedented step that demands more transparency,” Congressman Rick Larsen, the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said Wednesday. He called on the FAA to immediately share the risk assessment and data it used to make the decision. 

 

According to the Thursday order, the FAA reviewed voluntary safety reports from October and found users of the aviation system were worried about its performance. The agency also said it “observed evidence of increased stress on the NAS in aviation safety data,” particularly in the 40 targeted airports. 

 

The FAA has had to slow traffic at several airports across the US since the funding lapse began on Oct. 1 due to an uptick in air traffic controller staffing shortages. 

 

More than 13,000 controllers have been forced to work without pay, taking both an emotional and financial toll. Shutdowns often coincide with more controllers — as well as Transportation Security Administration agents also working without pay — calling in sick. 

 

Duffy has said that, normally, 5 per cent of delays are caused by staffing-related issues, but since the shutdown started that number has routinely been higher. 

 

Former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, the president and chief executive officer of industry trade group Airlines for America, said in a statement Wednesday that more than 3.4 million passengers have been impacted by delays and cancellations related to staffing shortages. The issues are likely to worsen as the busy Thanksgiving travel season approaches.