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Airlines have cancelled more than 9,000 flights across the US since the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered cuts last week.
The reduction in service was required to ease demand on control towers, which are short-staffed during the federal government shutdown.
Although the government appears set to reopen in the coming days, airport disruptions, flight cancellations and economic losses won’t disappear right away.
Here’s how the air travel network continues to be impacted.
Flights remain disrupted as the US shutdown nears an end
Another 1,200 domestic flights were cancelled on Tuesday as the FAA increased its target for cutting flights at the nation’s busiest airports to 6 per cent, up from 4 per cent.
There were fewer cancellations than in recent days, which Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy attributed to more air traffic controllers returning to work after news of a shutdown agreement.
Cancellations and delays also piled up due to ripple effects from flight cuts and severe weather.
FAA air traffic chief Frank McIntosh said the agency restricted large sections of airspace over the weekend “to slow the entire country down, which forced massive cancellations and delays.”
An estimated 5.2 million passengers have been affected by staffing-related delays or cancellations since the government shutdown began on 1 October, according to Airlines for America, an industry trade group.
Flight cuts won’t end until the FAA sees safety improve
The FAA hasn’t said when it will roll back flight limits. Duffy reinforced on Tuesday that the cuts will remain – even after the shutdown ends – until safety metrics improve and staffing levels stabilise at air traffic control facilities.
The cuts are set to rise to 10 per cent on Friday.
Duffy has declined to share the specific safety data that prompted the flight cuts.
But in a news conference at Chicago’s O’Hare airport, he cited reports of planes getting too close in the air, more runway incursions and pilot concerns about controllers’ responses.
Air traffic controller shortages won’t go away either
The nationwide shortage of controllers isn’t new, but the shutdown likely made it worse, with Duffy saying that 15 to 20 controllers are retiring every day and some younger controllers are leaving the profession.
And it doesn’t take many controller absences to create problems. During the shutdown, a number of controllers who weren’t being paid called off work as they dealt with increased stress and the need to take side jobs to cover their bills.
Former FAA air traffic control chief Mike McCormick said it’s similar to when many controllers left during the pandemic because “when the stressors in the workplace become too much of a challenge then those who can will resign or retire.”
Hub airports in Denver, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and the New York area have seen the bulk of the cancellations and long delays caused by staffing shortages in regional air traffic control centres and towers.
Smaller regional airlines like SkyWest and Republic have been hit hardest because they fly many of the regional routes being dropped by the major airlines.
Airlines will need to readjust after the flight cuts are lifted
The flight restrictions upended airline operations in just a matter of days. Many planes were rerouted and aren’t where they’re supposed to be.
McCormick said he expects operations to recover within days, similar to after a major snowstorm.
Eric Chaffee, a Case Western Reserve professor who studies risk management, warned the disruptions could last weeks as airlines face “complex operational hurdles” and winter weather complicates recovery before Thanksgiving.
“It’s similar to if you start pulling threads out of a tapestry,” Chaffee said. “What you may find is that lots unravels in addition to what you are trying to remove.”
It seems travellers are taking note. The pace of airline ticket sales for Thanksgiving travel has slowed as holidaymakers reconsider flying.
Aviation analytics firm Cirium said ticket sales during the busy late November season are still expected to be up over last year, but only slightly.
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