Some Chicago-area air travelers are anxious and scrambling, uncertain if their upcoming flights will be impacted by cuts in air traffic at the country’s biggest airports, including O’Hare and Midway.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced it will reduce flight capacity by 10% in the busiest parts of the national airspace starting Friday morning, as the federal government shutdown stretches into its second month — now the longest in history.
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%.
On Thursday, a Chicago Sun-Times staff member received a text message canceling his United Airlines flight from Washington, D.C., to O’Hare on Sunday due to “FAA-mandated airspace restrictions during the government shutdown.”
United plans to cancel 4% of flights, or roughly 20 round-trip flights at O’Hare, this weekend and work up to 10%, or about 50 flights, by Nov. 14, a company spokesperson said.
A total of 62 flights at O’Hare and 18 at Midway have been canceled for Friday, with 40 more on Saturday, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flights. It’s not clear if all the flights were terminated because of the FAA restrictions.
O’Hare remained calm Thursday afternoon, with a roughly 30-minute security line wait time. But travelers were apprehensive about their scheduled return flights.
“I’m anxious right now,” said Andrew Shepard, who just landed on a flight from Arizona. He said he’s in town to visit family and plans on leaving Chicago on Sunday.
Shepard has not gotten word about his return flight on United. He said he would seek a refund and stay a few extra days if it were to be canceled.
“I flew in to have a good time. So I guess I’m fine with staying longer,” he said.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said Wednesday that it was unprecedented to cancel so many flights to match reduced air traffic controller staffing.
American Airlines will also be canceling 4% of its flights through Monday, the company said in a statement to the Sun-Times. The airline was offering customers the option to change their flight or request a refund without any penalty.
Southwest Airlines is still determining the scheduling adjustments needed to meet the required cuts but also anticipates “vast majority” of its flights to be unaffected, according to a spokesperson.
Stacey McCann, who flew into O’Hare from Jacksonville, Florida, on Thursday, said she has not received word from American on whether her return flight will be canceled.
McCann said her flight into Chicago went smoothly, though she heard TSA agents at Jacksonville telling travelers waiting in the security line to prepare for a worse situation starting Friday.
Stephanie Turco, who flew in from New York, added that she also heard nothing about her return flight. The pair is in Chicago to watch the Bears take on the Giants on Sunday, they said.
If their flights were canceled, McCann and Turco said they could stay for an extra day or two but might have to rent a car to drive home if the cuts persist.
McCann said she’s frustrated with the government shutdown that has led to federal workers — including TSA agents and air traffic controllers — not being paid, and now the FAA cuts.
“Unfortunately, I think we are pawns in this political war,” McCann said.
For other travelers, the cuts could mean disruption of long-planned trips.
Camie Lee of Appleton, Wisconsin, said her family has tickets on United Airlines from Chicago to Houston on Friday for a cruise trip out of Galveston, Texas.
Lee said she has heard United’s flights between hubs will not be disrupted, but her flight has a layover in Atlanta, so she is unsure if it’s among the flights that may be canceled.
She said the alternative would be a 20-hour drive to Galveston, which the family has not planned for and cannot easily accommodate.
“It’s hard to not have anxiety about it,” Lee said. “As of right now, we’re still unsure of what the best route would be.”