Today's Edition
(AGENCIES)
Airlines cancelled more than 1,000 flights Friday and hundreds more for Saturday at major airports across the United States as they scrambled to comply with a Trump administration order to reduce air traffic.
The order came amid growing concerns about the impact potential staffing shortages could have on aviation safety.
Even so, the system appeared to be relatively resilient. As of Friday afternoon, roughly 94 percent of flights departed on time, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics firm - mirroring the system’s performance over the past few weeks on average. The cancellation numbers were far below those seen during major weather events and IT outages that occurred in 2024, the firm said.
There were some trouble spots. Staffing shortages at Reagan National Airport forced the Federal Aviation Administration to slow arrivals Friday evening, resulting in more than 70 cancelled flights and hours-long delays.
The administration announced Wednesday that it would direct US carriers to trim their schedules by 10 percent at 40 US airports - including major hubs in Atlanta, New York, Chicago, and Dallas. Under the plan released Thursday, the cutbacks were to be phased in, beginning with a 4 percent cut on Friday, followed by a 6 percent cut by Tuesday, an 8 percent cut by Thursday and a 10 percent reduction by November 14.
However, on the first day of the reductions, it appeared to be business as usual at many airports with a normal rush of anxious travellers.|
At San Francisco International Airport, most of the flights on the electronic information boards were marked "On Time” despite the fact that the airport was one of 40 where the number of flights are being reduced by FAA’s order.
But the impact of the shutdown on essential frontline workers, many of whom will miss their second paycheck next week, is clearly on travellers’ minds.
Meanwhile, American Airlines said Friday it was able to reaccommodate the majority of the 12,000 customers who had their flights canceled as a result of the FAA order. The carrier sought to minimiae the impact on travellers by reducing the number of departures to cities it serves frequently.
More than 40 flights from Chicago O’Hare International were also cancelled Friday, along with dozens of flights from Atlanta, Denver, Dallas and elsewhere, FlightAware figures showed - though they represented a small percentage of total flights at those airports.
Under the order, airlines will be required to issue full refunds for cancellations but will not be required to cover secondary costs, such as hotel stays for people who get stuck. Commercial space launches and reentries have been limited to between 10 pm and 6 am local time, while airlines face penalties of up to $75,000 for every flight they operate above the limit.
Though airlines were given only 48 hours to revise their schedules, they voiced support for the plan, emphasising the need for safety. At the same time, they called on lawmakers to end the government shutdown, which is stretching into its second month.
"The FAA’s goal is to relieve pressure on the aviation system so that we can all continue to operate safely,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in a message to employees sent Thursday. "That is the FAA’s highest priority, and ours as well. No matter what environment we’re operating in, we will not compromise on safety.”
Carriers said the cuts will largely affect smaller regional flights. United, Delta, and American Airlines said that international travel would not be affected. However, Alaska Airlines, the only carrier that serves many remote destinations in Alaska, said it will continue serving many of those communities and instead trim service on busier routes.
While the changes to regional routes will ease disruptions overall, the traffic reduction will reverberate beyond the 40 major airports targeted.
United said it will continue to offer about 4,000 flights a day and has published schedule changes for Friday to Sunday. Because of the early-November timing, the carrier noted, it will have more seats available than before the summer.
