(AFP) – More than 1,000 flights were canceled across the United States on Friday after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers working without pay amid a federal government shutdown. Forty airports were slated for the cuts, including major hubs in Atlanta, Newark, Denver, Chicago, Houston, and Los Angeles.
With Republicans and Democrats in a bitter standoff, particularly over health insurance subsidies, federal agencies have been grinding to a halt since funding lapsed on October 1. Many government employees, including vital airport staff, are either working without pay or furloughed at home, waiting for the now nearly six-week crisis to end. The flight reductions are taking effect gradually, starting at four percent and rising to 10 percent next week if Congress still hasn’t reached a funding deal.
More than 1,000 flights scheduled for Friday were canceled, according to tracking website FlightAware. The most affected airports late Friday were Reagan National in Washington, Denver International, and Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, according to data analyzed by AFP. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), travelers at Reagan National were seeing average delays of four hours, with 90-minute waits in Phoenix and one-hour delays in Chicago and San Francisco.
“This is frustrating. We don’t need to be in this position,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom told CNBC. The upheaval means ordinary Americans are now directly feeling the impacts of the Washington budget fight that has shut down much of the government. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed Democrats for the shutdown, saying they should vote to reopen the government. “If Democrats are going to go home this weekend, and they’ve kept the government shut down, that’s shameful,” Duffy told reporters at Reagan National Airport.
In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump on Friday also called on Senate lawmakers to remain in Washington until an agreement to end the shutdown. Republicans control Congress, but Democrats have said they will refuse to sign off on the majority party’s budget plans, including severe healthcare cuts.
The flight reduction measures come as the country enters its busiest travel time of the year, with the Thanksgiving holiday just weeks away. “This will get serious if things drag on to Thanksgiving,” retiree Werner Buchi told AFP at New York’s LaGuardia airport as he waited for his daughter to arrive on a flight from Wilmington, North Carolina. Rhonda, 65 — who arrived at LaGuardia without a hitch from Portland, Maine — worried about holiday plans “that could be ruined because people won’t talk to each other. This is hurting a lot of people,” she said.
American Airlines said in a statement that its scheduled reduction amounted to 220 flight cancellations each day. Delta Air Lines said it was cutting about 170 flights scheduled for Friday, while broadcaster CNN reported Southwest Airlines axed around 100 flights set for that day. More than 6,800 US flights were delayed Thursday with some 200 cancellations, FlightAware data showed, with passengers facing long lines at security checkpoints.
The Trump administration sought to reassure people that flying remains safe. “It’s safe to fly today, tomorrow, and the day after because of the proactive actions we are taking,” Duffy said on social media late Thursday. But many in high-stress aviation-related jobs are now calling in sick and potentially working second jobs to pay their bills.
– Alex PIGMAN
© 2024 AFP
