JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The impacts of the government shutdown are starting to ramp up in the skies, with hundreds of flight cancellations on Friday due to air traffic control staffing reductions.
Despite the mellow melodies reverberating through the lobby at Jacksonville International Airport, the government shutdown had travelers singing a more anxious tune.
“Flying to Hartford, Connecticut through Baltimore. And then Baltimore is on the list that there’s slowdowns and cancellations for Southwest. So, I’m a little concerned about making my flight to Hartford, Connecticut,” said traveler Leslie Thomas.
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The cancellations mainly impacted 40 major airports throughout the country as part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s four percent reduction in domestic flights.
Jacksonville is not on that list, which is why Greg Willis with Jacksonville Aviation Authority said travelers here have generally been spared.
“So, as of right now, it’s pretty much operations normal at Jacksonville,” said Willis. ”There was one cancellation, I’ve heard of some minor delays, but those may not be attributable to the air traffic control reductions.”
But Willis cautioned that’s not to say travelers flying in or out of Jacksonville should expect to see no impact, as the airport does offer flights to and through several of the directly impacted markets.
“The best thing that passengers can do is check flight status with their airlines,” said Willis. ”The airline is gonna be able to tell them if you’re delayed, if you need to be rebooked, if you need to be re-accommodated.”
For Mark Altschul, who was flying direct back home to New York, everything appeared to be all clear.
But he came prepared to face the music and drive home if his flight got canceled.
“So, we’ll see. I was prepared to drive. I like the drive. I like the quiet,” said Altschul. ”If I can fly, I’ll fly.”
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While travelers arriving at and departing from Jacksonville were spared major disruptions on the first day of domestic flight reductions, the four percent cuts at major airports will climb to ten percent by next Friday.
“Even on the worst day of delays, we’ve never reached 10 percent,” said Colin Scoggins, who worked as an air traffic controller in Boston for more than three decades.
As domestic flight reductions ramp up, Scoggins said he expects flights to and from smaller airports like Jacksonville may end up on the chopping block.
“There’s no way they can’t put these delays at the smaller airports. So if you’re flying from, you know, and not a hub airport, they’re gonna restrict some of those aircraft coming in,” said Scoggins.
And those concerns, coupled with record holiday travel expected over the coming weeks, some travelers like Carolyne St. Clair aren’t hedging their bets over Thanksgiving.
“I am purposely avoiding Thanksgiving travel,” said St. Clair.
Others, like Thomas’ daughter, planned their holiday trips well in advance and are going to have to cross their fingers.
“And so, I’m kind of concerned for them, as I am for everybody flying,” said Thomas.
As far as advice for travelers, Scoggins argued a direct flight is your best bet.
“When you start getting two or three connections, there’s a good shot one of them might not get you where you need to go,” said Scoggins.
But for those who have to travel frequently for work, like Altschul, they’re hoping for a holiday miracle that puts the air travel issues to rest before they have to put that advice into practice.
“I just hope that the two sides can figure it out so that the rest of us don’t have to worry about it anymore,” said Altschul.
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