Guidance from the FAA that told airlines to reduce flights by 4% at 40 major airports across the United States, including Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, has caused thousands of delays and more than 1,400 cancellations in just one day.
That percentage will ramp up to 10% if the government stays closed.
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Now, some travel experts are trying to help ease the pain for travelers who may be experiencing some of those delays or cancellations.
“Getting in line at the airport if your flight is not operating is not going to help you,” Marty Seslow of Gate 1 Travel said. “Being proactive in advance is going to help you.
Travel advisors say if you are travelling right now, work smarter, not harder. For example, if the airline cancels your flight, unless you need to, do not spring for a new ticket right away.
“The airline is going to protect you on an alternate fligh,t” Seslow said. “ It may be inconvenient, but they’re still going to get you to your final destination.”
If you are booking a flight right now, pay attention to the airline you book with and choose one that frequently flies to your destination.
“An airline that flies much less frequently, with the forced reduction in flights, there’s a better chance that there’s a disruption to your plans,” Seslow said.
The FAA reduced flight capacity because, as the shutdown goes on, and air traffic controllers, who are already short staffed are now unpaid, more and more are calling out of work.
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Former FAA official Dan Elwell said the longer the shutdown continues, the more likely it is that travel for Thanksgiving will be disrupted. Elwell said during the last shutdown in 2019, flight delays helped bring lawmakers back to the table to negotiate and end the shutdown.
