The US The Administration plans to cut 10 percent of the airport’s 40 flights on Friday morning if Congress fails to reopen the Federal Government Sean Duffy and FAA Chief Bryan Bedford said Wednesday.
The announcement came days after the US trust agency faced a widespread shortage of air traffic controllers on part of the country’s 30 busiest airlines, as well as security hours caused by the absence of air traffic control agents. Federal workers have now gone 35 days without pay amid the longest government shutdown in US history.
Which flights can be canceled, and where, is “based on data,” Duffy said Wednesday. “This is based on, where is the pressure and how do we relieve the pressure?”
When passengers fly, “they’re going to make it to their places safely because we’ve done our job,” Duffy said.
The FAA did not immediately respond to questions by phone, and it is unclear whether the flight cuts will affect only commercial aircraft, or cargo and private aircraft, as well. A 10 percent reduction in scheduled flights from scheduled flights at 40 airports would result in 4,000 to 5,000 canceled flights per day.
For airlines and travelers, the sudden termination of flights can lead to some serious headaches. Duffy warned this week of air travel “SAST Chaos” if the shutdown is closed.
But airlines have had their fair share of flight reductions due to operational constraints, said Michael McCormick, a former FAA administrator who previously led the air traffic management program at Empry-Drylle Aeronautical University.
In the spring of 2023, during the shortage of air traffic control facilities, the FAA is allowed to reduce their capacities at New York-Area Airports. (Such a reduction often forces the airlines to give up the right to take off or arrive temporarily, the schedules of the airlines were able to take the flights. That way, the cut flights did not reduce the number of passengers flying as a whole.
If the FAA follows through on Friday, airlines will be able to issue a similar “Up-Gauging” process, McCormick said. While flights will be canceled and passengers stranded, this may mean that many are still able to get to their destinations. The departure may give airlines more time to prepare.
He says: “Under the current situation, it is impossible to predict which airports will be affected tomorrow. “This restores some predictability.”
