Delta says it will minimize disruptions as FAA plans to cut flights at major airports
Airlines nationwide are working to calm travelers and ease tensions after the Federal Aviation Administration announced plans Wednesday to cut flights by 10% because of staffing shortages tied to the government shutdown.
In a statement obtained by CBS News Atlanta, a spokesperson for Delta Air Lines said the company is complying with the directive from the FAA and the U.S. Department of Transportation to reduce flights at 40 major U.S. airports. While those exact locations won't be named until Friday, a proposed list provided to CBS News by a source familiar with the discussions lists Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International as one of the airports affected.
"Delta expects to operate the vast majority of our flights as scheduled, including all long-haul international service, and will work to minimize customer impact while keeping safety our top priority," the statement reads. "We are providing additional flexibility to all of our customers during the impacted travel period to change, cancel, or refund their flights, including our basic economy fares, without penalty."
On Thursday afternoon, Delta announced that it would be canceling around 170 flights out of around 5,000 daily Delta and Delta Connection departures for Friday.
Delta customers are now being advised to monitor their flight status via Delta.com or the Fly Delta app. The company said it plans to give travelers as much notice as possible about any changes.
Air traffic controller fatigue, staffing shortage due to shutdown
During a press conference Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford emphasized that air traffic controllers have been heavily impacted by the shutdown since it began on Oct. 1. Most, according to reports, work mandatory overtime six days a week.
"As we dig deeper into the data, what we find are issues of fatigue that our flight controllers are experiencing," Duffy said. "We see that through voluntary safety disclosure reports coming in from commercial air transport pilots. That data has allowed us to focus not on the masses as a whole but on specific markets where we're seeing some of these reports come to us. We intend to be proactive. So we're going to implement measures with our commercial air lines partners ... We do recognize that the controllers have been working fastidiously for the last five weeks with this huge burden over their heads of lackof compensation, and we are starting to see some evidence that that fatigue is building in the system in ways that we ned to work towards relieveing some of that pressure."
The cuts are expected to be phased in starting Friday, with airlines reaching the full 10% mark by next week, according to two sources familiar with a conversation between the FAA, the Department of Transportation, and the airlines. The FAA has not formally announced which airports will have their capacity cut.
Experts, however, predict hundreds if not thousands of flights could be canceled. Aviation analytics firm Cirium estimate cuts could represent as many as 1,800 flights and upwards of 268,000 seats combined.
United, Southwest Airlines react to FAA's 10% airspace reduction
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby released a statement, saying: "Earlier today, the FAA and DOT directed every airline to reduce their schedules during the government shutdown, across 40 domestic airports.
The FAA's goal is to relieve pressure on the aviation system so that we can all continue to operate safely. That is the FAA's highest priority, and ours as well. No matter what environment we're operating in, we will not compromise on safety.
These reductions will start on Friday, November 7, and we will continue to make rolling updates to our schedule as the government shutdown continues so we can give our customers several days' advance notice and to minimize disruption for them and for all of you.
United's long-haul international flying and our hub-to-hub flying will not be impacted by this schedule reduction direction from the FAA. That's important to maintain the integrity of our network, give impacted customers as many options as possible to resume their trip, and sustain our crew pairing systems.
Instead, we will focus our schedule reductions on regional flying and domestic mainline flights that do not travel between our hubs.
We'll use our app, website and push notifications to communicate to customers directly if their flight changes, and to offer rebooking options. We want to provide them with as much information as we can and in a way that's simple and easy to understand.
And importantly, any customer traveling during this period is eligible for a refund if they do not wish to fly – even if their flight isn't impacted. That includes non-refundable tickets and those customers with basic economy tickets.
Even with these schedule reductions, United and its United Express partners will still offer about 4,000 flights per day to fly our customers to their destinations. And because of the early November timing, our flights have more seats available than before the summer, meaning we should be able to find seats for many customers even if their flight is canceled.
Finally, thank you for going above and beyond during this government shutdown to take care of our customers and one another. Your professionalism and care will be more important than ever in the days ahead."
Southwest Airlines shared a statement on its website saying: "Southwest is evaluating how the planned FAA flight reductions, announced on November 5 and expected to begin November 7, will affect our schedule. Southwest will communicate directly with Customers as soon as possible. Nothing is more important to Southwest® than the Safety of our Customers and Employees.
We know that these FAA-imposed cancellations can impact an important moment in your life. We appreciate your understanding.
If your flight is canceled, we will notify you via the contact information you shared with us at booking. You will also see a message on our app and website if you retrieve a trip with a canceled flight.