The FAA has announced plans to scale back flights by as much as 10% to help relieve pressure on air traffic controllers, who are currently working without pay due to the ongoing government shutdown. This reduction is already impacting operations at Arizona’s largest airport, Sky Harbor.
According to flight tracking website FlightAware, as of 10 a.m., Sky Harbor has experienced 69 flight delays and 53 cancellations. The situation is expected to worsen over the weekend, with FlightAware reporting more than 600 delays and over 1,000 cancellations scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at the airport.
The FAA’s directive affects several of the nation’s busiest airports beyond Phoenix, including those in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York, and Los Angeles. Across these hubs, FlightAware has recorded more than 15,000 delays and over 1,200 cancellations.
In response to the disruptions, airlines began notifying affected customers of cancellations starting Thursday. Leading carriers United, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines have pledged to offer refunds, even for tickets that are ordinarily non-refundable.
“We are operating today over 6,000 flights,” David Seymour, Chief Operating Officer for American Airlines, told ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “Now we’ve had to cancel, as part of this directive, 220 flights today, and that will be the same number through the weekend until we start ramping up. We have been working tirelessly around the clock to minimize disruption to our customers.”
The FAA plans to initiate flight reductions at 4%, gradually increasing to 10% by next Friday. These cuts will apply between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. and affect all commercial airlines.
### Could FAA Flight Cuts Lead to an End of the Government Shutdown?
This flight reduction order comes amid heightened pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration on Democrats in Congress to end the government shutdown, which began on October 1.
Political analyst Chuck Todd suggested on Friday that travel disruptions might encourage lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to return to the negotiating table. “This is what finally got everybody to break the last shutdown was air traffic controllers,” Todd told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News. “So, this is probably the best way to force a settlement.”
The most recent government shutdown during Trump’s first term—from December 22, 2018, to January 25, 2019—ended hours after the FAA began scaling back flights at several major East Coast airports.
Todd believes the current FAA order’s widespread impact could be even more significant than the one in 2019. “If you’ve got a lot of people stranded at major airports—and the fact that they’re impacting major airports—part of that was to try to bring more attention,” he explained. “If you’re at major airports, you’re going to be in major media markets and get more attention than if you were shutting things down at secondary airports.”
However, Todd expressed some skepticism about when the longest shutdown in American history will end. “I’d like to be optimistic and say that this weekend will motivate them,” he said. “But I’ve been wrong about this entire shutdown. Democrats are terrible at figuring out how to declare victory. They’ve won this argument and made their point. Why have other Americans suffer after you’ve already made your point?”
### How to Check the Status of Your Flight Out of Sky Harbor
Sky Harbor was the 15th busiest airport in the U.S. last year, according to Bureau of Transportation statistics. The airport had already experienced ground delays earlier this week due to staffing shortages.
Officials at Sky Harbor encourage passengers to check their flight statuses before heading to the airport and to allow extra time for security screening. The airport’s website provides up-to-date information on delays, cancellations, and security wait times.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://ktar.com/arizona-news/flight-cuts-government-shutdown/5772230/