FAA Staff Shortages and Chicago Snow Add to Flight Gridlock
Airlines Face Mounting Costs as Cancellations Climb Nationwide
Key Takeaways:
- Snow in Chicago worsened nationwide flight disruptions Nov. 10 as government-mandated flight restrictions entered a fourth day, leading to 1,432 cancellations across U.S. airports.
- The cancellations, driven by staff shortages amid a 40-day government shutdown, are expected to rise as the FAA increases flight volume cuts from 4% to 10% by Nov. 14.
- Transportation officials warned delays could intensify before Thanksgiving if the shutdown continues, though Congress is taking steps toward reopening the government.
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Snow in Chicago, one of the busiest U.S. aviation hubs, is compounding the travel chaos across American airports on Nov. 10 as government-mandated restrictions on flights enter a fourth day.
As of 7:15 a.m. New York time, the number of cancellations from U.S. airports stood at 1,432 flights, according to data compiled by aviation analytics firm Cirium. That's about 5.5% of the day's 25,733 scheduled flights, and the number is "growing," the company said.
Chicago O’Hare International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport saw the highest number of cancellations with at least 8% of the scheduled total. Delta Air Lines Inc. had the largest amount of canceled flights.
Airlines felt the brunt of escalating cancellations and delays over the weekend as mounting disruptions put passengers and crews out of place. Those likely will be exacerbated by winter weather in Chicago, where several inches of snow are expected to accumulate in the metropolitan area, the National Weather Serviceearly Nov. 10.
In the meantime, the impasse in Washington surpassed 40 days, though the Senate took a key step forward Nov. 10 toreopening the governmentwhen some moderate Democrats sided with Republicans. It’s still unclear whether the stalemate will be lifted given significant opposition in the House of Representatives.
Plus, it could take a number of days before votes in Congress take place.
The U.S. shutdown means air traffic controllers are about to miss their second paycheck. This past weekend, the Federal Aviation Administration posted notices of large areas of airports or airspace in the U.S. that faced delays due to a shortage of staff.
The stress on the air traffic system will continue to intensify ahead of the busy Thanksgiving travel season — and potentially come to a virtual standstill — if the ongoing shutdown forces controllers to continue working without paychecks, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Nov. 9.
As part of the FAA restrictions, some major U.S. airports are limiting access for private jets.
Imposed government cuts to daily flight volumes are set to begin increasing at 6 a.m. on Nov. 11, with airlines required to cancel 6% of their services, compared with 4% since Nov. 7. That total could reach 10% of daily flights by Nov. 14.
The mandated cuts don't directly impact international flights, but travelers connecting to or from travel outside the U.S. still are affected. Foreign carriers' planes are forced to join the queues of several dozen domestic U.S. flights waiting on runways to take off because of the staff shortages.
The disruptions will boost costs for airlines, given certain unavoidable expenses such as pilot wages, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts George Ferguson and Melissa Balzano wrote in a note. At the same time, the shutdown also could improve domestic airlines’ fourth-quarter margins as carriers drop unprofitable and smaller routes.
“If the reduction lasts beyond the near term, it stands to result in higher fares, particularly for business class, which should aid United, American and Delta,” they said.
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