US airlines scrambled yesterday to rejig schedules and field calls from anxious customers after the Trump administration ordered flight reductions at major airports due to a shortage of air traffic controllers during the longest US government shutdown in history.
The cuts, set to begin today, were expected to hit hundreds of thousands of travellers with little notice. Aviation analytics firm Cirium estimated the reductions would cancel up to 1,800 flights and 268,000 airline seats a day in the US.
The timing, during a period of low travel demand, was making it easier for airlines to rebook passengers, and analysts said the impact on airline earnings was likely to be modest if the shutdown ends before the Thanksgiving travel period.
Shares of major airlines including Delta, United, Southwest and American fell one to two per cent in afternoon trade.
“During the current low season, airlines tend to have lighter load factors, so the ability to accommodate passengers is higher,” said Savanthi Syth, an analyst at Raymond James.
United, American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue and Southwest were offering customers greater flexibility to change or cancel trips. The airlines said most customers would not be affected by the cuts.
Airlines can lessen the disruption by using bigger aircraft, a strategy they already employ to deal with congestion in New York-area airports.
Still, passengers inundated carriers on social media platforms like X with questions and comments as they tried to clarify their travel plans.
“Please, you and your fellow airlines – for Thanksgiving week – issue all cancellations at least a week in advance,” one X user wrote to United.
“Don’t make people wait to find out if they can fly home for the holiday.”
While sales of its “disruption assistance” service have risen steadily since the shutdown began on October 1, travel app Hopper reported an overnight jump of nearly 60pc after the government announced flight cuts.
In a LinkedIn post, Frontier chief executive officer Barry Biffle advised customers travelling to funerals or other critical events over the next 10 days to book backup tickets on different airlines.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Wednesday ordered flight cuts to start today at 40 major US airports, affecting both commercial and cargo service. Airline officials said the cuts would start at 4pc and ramp up to 10pc on Wednesday.
Duffy cited safety concerns due to the shutdown, caused by a political stalemate in Congress over funding government operations.
During the closure, 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 security screeners have been forced to work without pay. Absenteeism has risen to 30pc or more at some airports as the workers turn to second jobs to feed their families or are unable to afford childcare.
The FAA was already short about 3,500 controllers, and many were working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the shutdown. Airlines have estimated that at least 3.2 million travellers have been delayed during the shutdown.
Following a dip in corporate and leisure bookings in the first half of the year, US airlines had projected a period of steady demand this quarter. Yet, even as reduced capacity is expected to drive up airfares, the uncertainty caused by the shutdown may depress consumer travel spending.
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