The future of flying is still up in the air as flight cancellations and delays skyrocket every day.
As of 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport had 48 cancellations and 38 delays due to FAA-mandated flight reductions across the board.
Right now, the FAA is asking 40 airports across the country to cancel 6% of all flights. By Thursday, that number will rise to 8%, with the final increase at 10% by Friday.
The reductions began last Friday. Since then, almost 10,000 flights have been cancelled across the country. Many are due to reductions, but a strong winter storm across the Midwest to the East Coast has also played a part in the chaos.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in an announcement Tuesday that they saw significant delays, but they seemed to improve by Tuesday morning.
He said even if the government were to reopen today, they are keeping the impending 10% reductions in place until staffing returns to what they are calling “safe levels.” When pressed on what triggered the “safe levels” terminology, Duffy told reporters that in some cases, specifically in Chicago, planes were sometimes getting too close together.
He went on to say that when every air traffic controller and TSA agent returns to work, aviation will regain its footing.
“So I encourage all of them to come to work, to be patriots, and help navigate the airspace effectively for the American people,” Duffy said.
As cancellations continue across the board, Thanksgiving travel is top of mind for many Americans.
Duffy said he believes flight schedules will be reinstated by the holiday.
“I’m going to tell you we are not going to get to Thanksgiving. You’re going to see this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Big disruption thus far, massively more disruption if the government doesn’t open,” Duffy said.
Airline Analyst and Point.me cofounder Tiffany Funk disagrees, saying people should go ahead and prepare now to have patience and backup plans ready.
“The airlines will adjust schedules. If you’re going to a smaller non-hub airport, there’s a high probability your flight will be cancelled or rescheduled because of these cuts,” Funk said.
She says it could take days or even weeks to get the airlines back to their usual schedules after the shutdown ends.
Funk warned travellers to be flexible, have a secondary flight on another airline booked, and consider whether you can work from home in case you get trapped trying to return after the holiday weekend.