WASHINGTON – Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has announced a reduction in air traffic at 40 airports, including the three serving the nation’s capital, as soon as Friday if the government shutdown continues.
“We do not want to see disruptions at the FAA or here at DOT. We don’t want that,” Duffy said. “But our number one priority is to make sure when you travel, you travel safely.”
The Washington area airports affected are Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
The flight reductions, while designed to maintain airline safety amidst a shortage of air traffic controllers, are expected to cause increased delays and cancellations.
“We have decided that a 10% reduction in capacity would be appropriate to again continue to take the pressure off of our controllers,” Bryan Bedford, head of the Federal Aviation Administration, said Wednesday.
National Air Traffic Controllers Association President Nick Daniels told MSNBC on Thursday “it is absolutely safe to fly.” He said that he supported the FAA’s move but also called for an end to the record-breaking government shutdown.
“The American flying public should not be the ones paying the price,” Daniels said.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said in a statement to Capital News Service that “airlines will reach out directly to affected customers regarding flight cancellations or rescheduling options.”
“Due to the FAA-mandated flight reductions, passengers may experience cancellations or delays in their travel,” a spokesperson for BWI Airport told CNS in a statement.
The FAA administrator said Wednesday that flight cuts will last until “we see the metrics move in the right direction.”
Airports recommended contacting airlines for information on the status of their flights.
According to FlightAware’s most recent numbers Thursday, Reagan National had 240 delays, Dulles had 53 delays and BWI had 68 delays. These numbers are expected to worsen once the FAA implements its flight reduction plan.
Nationwide, there were 3,199 delays and 58 cancellations as of 2 p.m. Thursday.
Airlines were already feeling the effects of the shutdown two weeks ago when air traffic controllers worked through their first unpaid pay period. Friday marks the second pay period in which employees will not be paid, and Daniels said economic pressures on controllers were only going to get worse.
“They’re not calling in sick, they’re not calling in protest, they’re calling with real life situations,” Daniels told CNN Thursday. “When you don’t pay somebody for 37 days and say, ‘hey, just keep showing up and do your best,’ people are going to have issues, and they’re mounting daily.”
Several major airlines serving Washington area airports have released statements on the FAA decision, stating that they will cooperate with the agency to implement the reductions.
“We expect the vast majority of our customers’ travel will be unaffected, and long-haul international travel will remain as scheduled,” American Airlines said. “In the meantime, we continue to urge leaders in Washington, D.C., to reach an immediate resolution to end the shutdown.”
Delta Airlines said in a statement that the “vast majority” of flights will operate as scheduled, and that the company “will work to minimize customer impact while keeping safety our top priority.”
“These are unusual times, and we look forward to a time when we can get back to business as usual,” Bedford said.