SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Airlines began canceling flights on Thursday to comply with Federal Aviation Administration orders to cut 10% of flights over the next week.
The order comes as the government shutdown entered its 38th day, creating widespread travel disruptions across the country.
The FAA ordered all airlines to cut 4% of their flights as of Thursday, with that number rising to 10% over the next week.
Air traffic controllers who are not being paid during the shutdown continue to call out sick, forcing airlines and travelers to make significant adjustments.
San Diego International Airport is among 40 major airports facing flight cuts. The airport handles about 600 flights daily, meaning a 10% reduction would eliminate 60 flights by next week.
Airlines are making individual decisions about which flights to cancel, with each carrier taking different approaches:
Southwest Airlines wrote ABC 10News that it will cancel about 120 flights across the country starting Friday.
Beginning tomorrow, Nov. 7, we’ll start with a 4% reduction in flying across 34 of the more than 117 airports we serve. We proactively canceled about 120 flights for Nov. 7, representing a small portion of our daily schedule, and we are now processing Saturday’s cancellations, which are expected to be less than 100 flights.
Southwest passengers with flights booked through next Wednesday can adjust travel plans at no cost or receive a refund.
Per its website, United Airlines canceled around 187 flights, with a handful impacting San Diego. The airline has already posted Saturday and Sunday flight cancellations. United said none of its international flights will be impacted, and connecting flights to hub airports like Chicago or Los Angeles will also continue operating.
American Airlines wrote ABC 10News that it operates 6,000 flights daily and has canceled only 220 so far.
First, we’re running a nearly full schedule today and the vast majority of our customers won’t be impacted: We plan to operate about 6,000 flights today, and we are still serving every market we did before the reductions. We canceled about 220 flights for today.
An American Airlines spokesperson also explained that, rather than canceling flights to certain destinations entirely, the airline is reducing the number of daily flights to those locations to maintain rebooking options for customers.
Alaska Airlines did not provide exact numbers to ABC 10News, but fewer than 10 flights between Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines were canceled Friday morning, according to FlightAware. Passengers with flights booked between Friday and Monday can rebook without additional costs if done before November 17.
Alaska wrote ABC 10News:
In light of ATC staffing shortages due to the ongoing government shutdown, the FAA has directed U.S. airlines to reduce flights at 40 domestic airports. We have assessed our schedule and begun canceling a limited number of flights effective Friday, November 7. The FAA’s directive is expected to remain in place until further guidance is issued and the shutdown concludes. International flying is not expected to be impacted.
Delta Air Lines also did not provide specific numbers; however, FlightAware showed a few dozen canceled flights as of Friday morning. The airline wrote ABC 10News:
All planned FAA-directed flight cancellations for Nov. 7-9 have been completed. More commentary: Delta cares for customers, reduces flights beginning Nov. 7 in compliance with FAA directive | Delta News Hub [news.delta.com]
Delta has listed affected cities on its website for cuts through next Friday, giving passengers until November 17th to rebook flights at no additional cost.
