Anxious travelers across the United States felt some relief Friday as airlines mostly stayed on schedule while still cutting more than 1,000 flights largely due to the government shutdown.
However, plenty of tension remains, as more flights will be canceled over the next week in compliance with the Federal Aviation Administration’s order to reduce service at the nation’s busiest airport.
The order comes in response to air traffic controllers – who have not been paid for nearly a month as the lockdown continues – who are calling for greater numbers to stop working as they deal with financial pressures.
While it left some passengers making backup plans and reserving rental cars, Friday’s canceled flights represent only a small portion of total flights nationwide.
Passengers are still facing last-minute cancellations and long security lines at the 40 airports targeted by the slowdown, including major hubs in Atlanta, Dallas, Denver and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Airlines expect limited disruptions this weekend, and stressed that international flights are not expected to be affected.
But if the shutdown lasts much longer, and more controllers stop working after losing their second paycheck on Tuesday, the number of cancellations could jump from the initial 10% reduction in flights to 15% or 20%, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Fox News on Friday.
Long lines and, for some, long flights
Those who showed up before sunrise Friday at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston faced barely moving security lines, leading some people to lie down while they waited.
“It was going around all different parts of the normal area,” Cara Bergeron said after flying from Houston to Atlanta. “I’ve never seen anything like this.” Others were less fortunate.
Karen Soyka of Greenwich, Connecticut, found that her flight departing from Newark, New Jersey, had been booked an hour early. Then she learned that her plane was already departing from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, at least an hour away.
Dr. Soyka, a surgeon, tried booking a rental car to get to Utah for the weekend before settling on an option that looked like it was straight out of Hollywood.
“I’m going to go to a U-Haul and drive a truck across the country,” said Dr. Soyka, who advises on medical scenes there in a segment of the TV series “Yellowstone.” Hertz reported a sharp increase in one-way car rentals.
Airlines are scrambling to rebook passengers
More than 1,000 flights were canceled across the country on Friday — five times the number that were canceled on Thursday, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions.
Reagan National Airport was the hardest hit with at least 18% of incoming flights — 81 flights — canceled on Friday. The major hubs of O’Hare, Atlanta, Denver and Dallas-Fort Worth rounded out the top five airports in terms of cancellations, but those airports lost only about 3% of their flights.
Not all of the cancellations were due to the FAA order, and both United and American airlines said they were able to quickly rebook most travelers. Airlines have focused their discounts on smaller regional routes to airports where they have multiple flights per day, helping to reduce the number of passengers affected.
Delta Air Lines said it canceled nearly 170 flights on Friday while American planned to cut 220 flights per day through Monday. Southwest Airlines cut about 120 flights Friday.
The FAA said the cuts affecting all commercial airlines start with 4% of flights at the busiest airports and will rise to 10% over the next week.
“I don’t want to be stuck in the airport sleeping on a seat,” Michelle Cuthbert, of Columbus, Ohio, said of an upcoming flight to Dallas. “Everyone pays for the politics that are going on. We are just collateral damage.”
If the lockdown continues, there could be another impact before the holiday.
Nearly half of U.S. air freight is shipped in the bellies of passenger planes, so the disruption could increase freight shipping costs, said Patrick Benfield, a professor of supply chain practice at Syracuse University.
“Air travel is part of the infrastructure backbone of the American economy,” said Greg Rife, CEO of consulting firm Elevate Aviation Group. “This closure will impact everything from cargo planes to people getting to business meetings to the ability of tourists to travel.”
Why is this happening?
The Federal Aviation Administration said the cuts are necessary to relieve pressure on air traffic controllers. Many are pulling six-day work weeks with mandatory overtime, and increasing numbers are starting to demand as financial pressures and burnout mount.
“I don’t want to see disruption. I don’t want to see delay,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport outside Washington.
The FAA order comes as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on Democrats in Congress to end the shutdown.
Ending the government shutdown would ease the situation for controllers, but the FAA said flight reductions would remain in place until their safety data improved.
Denver International Airport is working to fill this gap, by establishing a food pantry for its federal employees and requesting permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to use airport revenues to pay controllers. The airport said Friday that it has not received any response from the Federal Aviation Administration yet.
What can airlines and travelers do?
Airlines are in uncharted territory, said Kerry Tan, a professor at Loyola University of Maryland in Baltimore who has studied the industry.
“The uncertainty associated with the government lockdown makes it difficult for airlines to rationally plan their response and optimize their flight operations,” Ms Tan said.
Airlines are required to refund customers whose flights are canceled but not for costs such as food and hotels unless the delay or cancellation is caused by a factor within the airlines’ control, according to the Department of Transportation.
Christina Schlegel, who booked a flight to Florida on Wednesday before a cruise in the Bahamas, said her husband suggested she drive if her flight was cancelled, but she would rather try a different flight or airport.
Ms. Schlegel, a travel consultant from Arlington, Virginia, told clients not to panic, monitor their flights and arrive at the airport early.
“People really have to think: ‘What else can I do?’” she said. “Can I actually look into some other potential flights? What other flights are available?” Keep this information in your back pocket.
This story was reported by the Associated Press. Associated Press journalists Charlotte Cramon in Atlanta; John Sewer in Toledo, Ohio; Haley Golden in Seattle; Matt Sedensky and Charles Sheehan in New York; Paul Weissman in Washington and Ted Shaffery in New Jersey contributed.