Highlights
- Transportation Secretary warns 10% reduction in flights at 40 major US airports starting Friday if shutdown continues
- Air traffic controllers working without pay for a month report serious fatigue problems
- Flight cancellations start at 4% Friday, rising to a full 10% next week, affecting 3,500-4,000 daily flights
- Controllers haven’t received pay since Oct. 1, when the government was shut down
- Airlines say they are waiting for more information about which flights will be cancelled.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday that flights will be cut at 40 big US airports starting Friday morning. This only happens if the government shutdown keeps going. The reason is simple: air traffic controllers are just too tired to work safely anymore. Bryan Bedford runs the Federal Aviation Administration, and he explained the problem at a news conference with Duffy. Controllers have been working without getting any paychecks for a whole month now. Bedford said this is unusual, but so is the shutdown, and so is making people work without paying them.
The shutdown started back on October 1 when the government ran out of money. Most federal workers were told to stay home until things got fixed. But air traffic controllers are considered essential workers, so they had to keep showing up and doing their jobs. They just didn’t get paid for it. Some controllers are calling in sick because they’re exhausted. Others are taking second jobs, driving for Uber or delivering food, just to pay their bills and put gas in their cars to get to work.
Cuts Start Small Then Get Bigger
The flight cuts will be gradual and build up over several days. This Friday, for instance, only 4% of domestic flights will be cancelled. On Saturday, that goes up to 5% on Sunday, it reaches 6%. By the following week, the cuts hit their full 10% they are planned. This means somewhere between 3,500 and 4,000 flights every day could get cancelled. Officials said they will notify everyone on Thursday which 40 airports are on the list.
All the airports getting cuts are busy places with lots of travellers. Bedford said they’re watching pressures build up in dangerous ways. He does not think they can keep telling people America has the safest airline system in the world if they don’t do something now. Duffy said air travel is still safe today, but they’re making these cuts to keep it that way. If the shutdown goes on even longer and things get worse, Bedford warned they might have to make even more cuts beyond what they announced Wednesday.
Airlines and Labourers Struggle
American Airlines is the second-largest carrier in North America. They issued a statement saying they are waiting to hear more from the FAA about which flights go on the chopping block. The airline believes most customers will not be impacted by their trip cancellations or delays. Southwest Airlines is the fourth largest, and they said they are still working to determine how the restrictions will impact their operations. They will be contacting their customers as soon as they work it out. Southwest also said Congress needs to fix the mess now and return the airspace system to full capacity.
Nick Daniels heads the union that represents over 20,000 aviation workers. He spoke with CNN on Wednesday and painted a grim picture. Controllers are sending text messages stating they don’t even have enough money to buy gas to drive to work. Daniels said everything they do depends on being able to predict what happens next, but right now, nobody can predict anything. Duffy warned earlier this week that controllers taking extra jobs create risks. He has even gone so far as to threaten the firing of controllers not show up for their shifts. Over the weekend, he told ABC that controllers face an impossible choice between going to work without getting paid or driving for Uber to feed their families.
FAQs
Q: Why are flights being cancelled?
A: Air traffic controllers have been working without pay for a month because of the government shutdown. They’re too tired, and some can’t even afford gas to get to work.
Q: How many flights will be cancelled?
A: Between 3,500 and 4,000 flights per day could be cancelled once the cuts reach 10% next week. It starts at just 4% on Friday.
Q: Which airports will be affected?
A: Officials will announce on Thursday which 40 airports face cuts. They said all are major busy locations but haven’t released the names yet.
Q: Is it still safe to fly?
A: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says air travel is still safe right now. They’re making these cuts to keep it safe as the situation gets worse.
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