With Americans preparing for Thanksgiving and Christmas travel this year, the government shutdown is beginning to affect travel plans. With operation cuts going into effect over the next week, pressure is mounting for Democrats to come to the table and reopen the government.
According to multiple reports, between 700 and 800 flights at major travel hubs have been canceled as a Federal Aviation Administration emergency order went into effect on Friday.
‘This level of cancellation is going to grow over time, and that’s something that is going to be problematic.’
Forty major airports are affected by the order, though increased stress has been noted at other airports as well.
Many people in the transportation sector have expressed their frustration with the shutdown, particularly as the holiday travel season looms on the horizon.
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Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
On CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom called the government shutdown’s impact on flights “frustrating”: “What we’ve done today is we tried to minimize the impact on all of our customers. There’s only 220 flights out of 6,200 flights, and we’ve done it in a way that really impacts our smaller aircraft.”
“This level of cancellation is going to grow over time, and that’s something that is going to be problematic,” Isom added.
According to the FAA’s emergency order, cuts in operations began November 7 to ensure the safe and efficient use of airspace and aircraft. The reductions will gradually increase over the next week with a planned 10% reduction at “high impact airports” from Anchorage to Orlando by November 10.
Air traffic controllers have been working without pay since October 3, according to the order.
As of Wednesday, this government shutdown surpassed the previous record of 35 days, which took place in 2018.
On Friday, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy responded to the increased stress on air travel: “I have done all I can to minimize disruption in the airspace. I’m trying to get people where they want to go and to get there safely.”
Noting that the situation is not ideal, Duffy called for the government to reopen: “We are taking unprecedented action at @USDOT because we are in an unprecedented shutdown,” he added.
Democrats have signaled that they are unwilling to cooperate with Republicans to fund the government on Friday without more health care concessions, likely extending the 38-day shutdown.
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