Flight Cancellations Soar to Worst Levels as the Shutdown Nears its End
Close to 10,000 flights within, into, or out of the U.S. were delayed, and nearly 2,500 were canceled on Monday.
Photo: lev radin / Shutterstock.com
Close to 10,000 flights within, into, or out of the U.S. were delayed, and nearly 2,500 were canceled on Monday, marking the worst day for flight issues since the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) directive began on Friday.
Tuesday isn’t expected to be much better. Several airports are already reporting major issues, including New York’s LaGuardia (LGA), which had 10% of its flights delayed and another 3% canceled as of 8 a.m. Those numbers, and the ones below, are very likely to get worse as the day rolls on.
Here are the other airports with the most cancellations, also as of 8 a.m., according to FlightAware:
- Chicago O’Hare (ORD): 63 cancellations (5% of its schedule)
- Hartsfield-Jackson International (ATL): 59 cancellations (5% of its schedule)
- Denver International (DEN): 46 cancellations (5% of its schedule)
- Boston Logan (BOS): 34 cancellations (6% of its schedule)
- Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX): 30 cancellations (5% of its schedule)
On Monday, cancellations got as high as 327 at Chicago O’Hare, 109 at LaGuardia, and around 80 at Hartsfield-Jackson, Boston Logan, and Newark Liberty.
It’s not just delays and cancellations that are impacting travelers. Stories of waiting hours on a tarmac either to take off, or to get access to a gate to deplane, have popped up at airports across the country over the last week.
When Will Air Travel Get Better?
The flight cuts all stem from a directive issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last week, instructing airlines to drop 10% of their scheduled flights amid a shortage of air traffic controllers (ATCs) around the country. Airlines are currently ramping up the cuts and expect to hit the 10% figure sometime this week (on Monday, approximately 6% of all flights were cut).
There was some good news late Sunday when reports suggested that the government was on its way to ending the shutdown, which now ranks as the longest one in history. The House plans to vote on the Senate-passed bill to reopen the federal government on Wednesday. The bill will then be sent to the president’s desk.
The bad news is that air travel will not improve right away. Aside from the wait for the Senate and House to finish voting to officially reopen the government, there will likely be a ramp-up period and lingering effects from the prolonged absence and retirements of ATCs during the shutdown. According to reporters, at least five ATCs have retired over the last week.
The FAA will have about two weeks to ramp up before the busiest travel period of the year, the Thanksgiving Holiday.
How Are Airlines Reacting?
Airlines are being proactive and most are doing their best to make cancellations days in advance in order to allow flyers the time to get rebooked, rescheduled, or make the decision to cancel. JetBlue and United, for instance, have canceled all of their impacted flights through Nov. 12.
American Airlines has a waiver that covers travelers flying through Nov. 15 through impacted airports. American is allowing rebooking for new flights through Nov. 17.
Delta Air Lines is allowing flyers who are traveling to, from, or through the impacted markets for flights through Nov. 14 to cancel or refund their flights without penalty, or change to a new flight through Nov. 21.
JetBlue, which has cancelled all impacted flights through Nov. 12, has a waiver out through Nov. 14. The airline said Wednesday that if a flight is canceled, it will automatically rebook passengers on the next available flight. Passengers can also opt not to travel and instead receive a full refund or change to a new fight through Nov. 20. Like other carriers, JetBlue is waiving change fees and fare differences for impacted travelers.
United Airlines has its own waiver out for travel through Nov. 16 through the impacted airports, allowing affected travelers to reschedule their trip without change fees and fare differences. The rescheduled flight must be a United flight departing between six days before and six days after the original travel date.
