The US government’s inability to pay air traffic controllers has led to a shortage of manpower, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to request airports to reduce flight numbers on Friday, November 7th. As a result, over a thousand flights have been canceled for the second consecutive day.
Affected flights span across 40 airports in the United States, including major hubs such as Atlanta, Newark, Denver, Chicago, Houston, and Los Angeles.
FAA announced that these 40 designated airports will gradually reduce flights, transitioning from a 4% reduction to a 10% reduction. The adjustments are expected to begin on Tuesday and be fully implemented by Friday, impacting all commercial airlines.
According to flight tracking website FlightAware, there has been a slight increase in flight disruptions on Saturday, typically a slow day for travel. The number of canceled flights for two consecutive days has surpassed one thousand. As of Saturday afternoon, Charlotte Airport in North Carolina has already canceled 130 flights. Significant flight disruptions have also occurred throughout the day at airports such as Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, and Newark in New Jersey.
While the current percentage of flights being canceled is only 4% of total flights in the US, most airports have not experienced widespread chaos. However, analysts warn that if the number of flight cancellations continues to rise and extends into the Thanksgiving holiday, disruptions are expected to spread beyond the aviation industry.
Patrick Penfield, a supply chain management professor at Syracuse University, highlighted that since nearly half of US air cargo is transported via passenger planes, flight delays could raise transportation costs, subsequently increasing commodity prices that will be ultimately borne by consumers.
Greg Raiff, CEO of Elevate Aviation Group, pointed out that the economic impact of the shutdown will affect various sectors, from the tourism industry to manufacturing. Business trips, passenger travel, and even hotel taxes and city revenues will be impacted.
Car rental companies reported a sharp increase in one-way rental bookings on November 7th, with some passengers even directly canceling their flights.
The government shutdown has left air traffic controllers without pay for nearly a month, leading many to take sick leave and exacerbating the existing shortage of manpower. Most controllers have been forced to work six unpaid overtime days per week during the shutdown, with some even seeking second jobs to cover living expenses.