U.S. Airlines And Airports Brace For Forced Schedule Reductions

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Most major American commercial airports, including international gateways like Atlanta Hartsfield, New York JFK, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Los Angeles International (LAX) and Miami International (MIA), will be subject to air traffic cuts beginning Nov. 7 if the U.S. government shutdown continues.

The move, announced Nov. 5 by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, is aimed at reducing pressure and fatigue on air traffic controllers who, as essential workers, are required to work through the shutdown while pay is deferred until the government re-opens.

Controllers last received a partial check on or around Oct. 14; since then, they have received nothing. As expected—and as what happened during the last lengthy government shutdown of 35 days ending in January 2019—controllers began calling in sick in larger numbers from the day they received their first zero checks, on or around Oct. 28. Friday Nov. 7 will mark the 37th day of this shutdown, making it the longest in history.

The biggest hurdle to breaking the impasse between Democrats and Republicans is reaching agreement across the aisle on extending healthcare benefits under the Affordable Care Act, which has nothing to do with aviation. But airlines, airports and the flying public are now beginning to feel the pain. Airport security screeners that work for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are similarly deemed “essential workers” and therefore must work without pay until the shutdown ends. Even as flight schedules are reduced, queues at airport security points could get longer as fewer TSA agents show up.

FAA and the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) on Nov. 6 released a list of 40 airports which will be affected by the schedule cuts. Thirty of those essentially make up all of America’s largest and busiest airports. In addition to Atlanta, JFK, O’Hare, DFW, LAX and MIA, airports like Boston Logan, Charlotte Douglas, Denver International, Newark Liberty, Reagan-Washington, Washington Dulles and Seattle-Tacoma are on the list. There are also 10 mid-sized airports and cargo hubs, including Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky, Chicago Midway, Dallas Love Field, Houston Hobby Airport and UPS hub Louisville International.

All will see air traffic reduced by 4% on Friday Nov. 7, deepening to 10% through the Nov. 8-9 weekend.

Airlines, which have had to scramble to change their schedules, began issuing notices to customers. American Airlines said it expected the “vast majority” of travel would be unaffected and long-haul international travel would remain as scheduled. American also said that where flights were canceled, or a customer chose to change or cancel a flight, they would be able to do so without penalty and with a full refund. Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines issued similar statements.

The longer the shutdown continues, however, the harder it will be for airlines to manage the schedule cuts without incurring financial losses. While airlines are trying to preserve their international schedules, regional routes from smaller airports are likely to be cut first, disconnecting people in small cities and making it more difficult to get them to and from hubs via connecting flights.

The other red flag is the upcoming U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, which this year is at the end of November. Thanksgiving week is typically one of the busiest air travel periods in America and many people book their flights well in advance.  They will be seeking reassurance that they will be able to get to their holiday destinations.

Airlines and airports, of course, have no answers as to when the shutdown will end. But some are joining airline and air traffic control unions in calling for those who do have the power to reach agreement immediately. “We continue to urge leaders in Washington, D.C., to reach an immediate resolution to end the shutdown,” American said in a statement.