United Airlines on Thursday began cutting flights in and out of Denver International Airport scheduled through Sunday by 4% — about 20 flights a day — as the Federal Aviation Administration orders reductions to air traffic at major airports across the country due to the government shutdown.
The FAA’s order to reduce air traffic at 40 of the busiest airports across the U.S. includes locations across more than two dozen states and is likely to ripple far beyond those targeted places.
With just hours to go, airlines scrambled Thursday to figure out where to cut, and travelers with plans for the weekend and beyond were waiting nervously to see if their flights would take off as scheduled.
The affected airports include busy connecting hubs and those in popular tourist destinations, including Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Orlando, Miami, and San Francisco. In some of the biggest cities — such as New York, Houston and Chicago — multiple airports will be affected.
Airlines will phase in the cuts at the direction of the FAA, starting with eliminating 4% of flights at the 40 airports on Friday and working up to 10%, according to three people familiar with what the agency said, but who were not authorized to discuss it publicly.
Federal authorities are imposing the flight reductions to relieve pressure on air traffic controllers who are working without pay during the government shutdown and have been increasingly calling off work.
Controllers have already missed one paycheck and are scheduled to again receive nothing next week as the shutdown drags on and the financial pressure on them mounts.
“We’ve started the process and have already made cuts through Sunday. We’ve canceled 4% each day per guidance from the FAA. This represents about 20 round-trip flights a day in Denver, which will primarily be United Express flights,” United spokesman Russell Carlton said.
Carlton said the airline has been instructed to cut 4% of flights through Sunday, and then an additional 1% each day the shutdown continues, subject to FAA orders, until reaching 10%.
A 10% reduction in flights would mean the cancellation of about 55 flights a day in and out of Denver.
Hub-to-hub and international flights won’t be cut, Carlton said. “That’ll help us maintain our operation and give impacted customers as many options as possible to resume their trip.”
Other airlines at DIA were planning similar adjustments.
“Southwest Airlines is determining the scheduling adjustments needed to meet the required FAA flight reductions,” Southwest spokeswoman Lynn Lunsford said.
The majority of Southwest customers’ flights won’t be disrupted, Lunsford said, and all customers with travel booked through Wednesday can change travel plans at no cost or receive a refund, whether or not their flight is affected, she said.
“We will communicate directly with affected customers as soon as possible,” Lunsford said. “We continue to urge Congress to immediately resolve its impasse and restore the national airspace system to its full capacity.”
During the 37-day shutdown, the FAA has been delaying flights at times when airports or its other facilities are short on controllers.
At DIA, officials have been bracing for the flight reductions. DIA has seen relatively few flight delays over the past month.
DIA officials on Wednesday took the unusual step of requesting a waiver from the FAA that would allow the use of airport revenues to cover the wages of air traffic controllers working without pay.
Denver airport officials said Thursday they haven’t received a response from the FAA.
Around the nation, airline officials have said they will try to minimize the impact on travelers. United Airlines officials said they’ll focus the cuts on smaller regional routes that use smaller planes like 737s and let travelers change plans at no cost, whether or not their flights are affected.
“The FAA’s goal is to relieve pressure on the aviation system so that we can all continue to operate safely. That is the FAA’s highest priority, and ours as well,” United chief executive Scott Kirby said in a statement to employees. “No matter what environment we’re operating in, we will not compromise on safety. These reductions will start on Friday, Nov. 7, and we will continue to make rolling updates to our schedule as the government shutdown continues so we can give our customers several days’ advance notice and minimize disruption for them and for all of you.”
Passengers should start to be notified about cancellations on Thursday. The FAA recommended that travelers download their airline’s app and turn on notifications. United Airlines and Delta Air Lines both said they will offer refunds to passengers who opt not to fly — even if they purchased tickets that aren’t normally refundable.
Experts predict hundreds if not thousands of flights . The cuts could represent as many as 1,800 flights and upwards of 268,000 seats combined, according to an estimate by aviation analytics firm Cirium.
“I’m not aware in my 35-year history in the aviation market where we’ve had a situation where we’re taking these kinds of measures,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said Wednesday. “We’re in new territory in terms of government shutdowns.”
Air traffic controllers have been working unpaid since the shutdown began Oct. 1. Most work mandatory overtime six days a week, leaving little time for side jobs to help cover bills and other expenses unless they call out.
Mounting staffing pressures are forcing the agency to act, Bedford said.
“We can’t ignore it,” he said, adding that even if the shutdown ends before Friday, the FAA wouldn’t automatically resume normal operations until staffing improves and stabilizes.
Bedford and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday that they would meet with airline executives to figure out how to safely implement the reductions.
Major airlines, aviation unions and the broader travel industry have been urging Congress to end the shutdown, which became the longest on record.
The shutdown is putting unnecessary strain on the system and “forcing difficult operational decisions that disrupt travel and damage confidence in the U.S. air travel experience,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman in a statement.
ٳܴڴڲ on Tuesday that there could be chaos in the skies if the shutdown drags on long enough for air traffic controllers to miss their second full paycheck next week.
Duffy said some controllers can get by missing one paycheck, but not two or more. And he has said some controllers are even struggling to pay for transportation to work.
Staffing can run short both in regional control centers that manage multiple airports and in individual airport towers, but they don’t always lead to flight disruptions. Throughout October, flight delays caused by staffing problems had been largely isolated and temporary.
But the past weekend brought some of the worst staffing issues since the start of the shutdown.
From Friday to Sunday evening, at least 39 air traffic control facilities reported potential staffing limits, according to an Associated Press analysis of operations plans shared through the Air Traffic Control System Command Center system. The figure, which is likely an undercount, is well above the average for weekends before the shutdown.
During weekends from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, the average number of airport towers, regional control centers and facilities monitoring traffic at higher altitudes that announced potential staffing issues was 8.3, according to the AP analysis. But during the five weekend periods since the shutdown began, the average more than tripled to 26.2 facilities.
Airports that will reduce flights during the government shutdown
1. Anchorage International in Alaska
2. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International in Georgia
3. Boston Logan International in Massachusetts
4. Baltimore/Washington International in Maryland
5. Charlotte Douglas International in North Carolina
6. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International in Ohio
7. Dallas Love Field in Texas
8. Ronald Reagan Washington National in Virginia
9. Denver International in Colorado
10. Dallas/Fort Worth International in Texas
11. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County in Michigan
12. Newark Liberty International in New Jersey
13. Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International in Florida
14. Honolulu International in Hawaii
15. Houston Hobby in Texas
16. Washington Dulles International in Virginia
17. George Bush Houston Intercontinental in Texas
18. Indianapolis International in Indiana
19. John F. Kennedy International in New York
20. Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas
21. Los Angeles International in California
22. LaGuardia Airport in New York
23. Orlando International in Florida
24. Chicago Midway International in Illinois
25. Memphis International in Tennessee
26. Miami International in Florida
27. Minneapolis/St Paul International in Minnesota
28. Oakland International in California
29. Ontario International in California
30. Chicago O`Hare International in Illinois
31. Portland International in Oregon
32. Philadelphia International in Pennsylvania
33. Phoenix Sky Harbor International in Arizona
34. San Diego International in California
35. Louisville International in Kentucky
36. Seattle/Tacoma International in Washington
37. San Francisco International in California
38. Salt Lake City International in Utah
39. Teterboro in New Jersey
40. Tampa International in Florida
