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SAN FRANCISCO, UNITED STATES – JUNE 8: A British Airways plane lands at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in San Francisco, California, United States on June 8, 2023. ((Photo by Tayfun CoSkun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images))
SAN FRANCISCO – U.S. airlines prepared to phase in hundreds of flight cuts at the country’s busiest airports starting Friday, including those in San Francisco, Oakland New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and Chicago, due to the government shutdown, according to a list distributed to the airlines and obtained by The Associated Press.
SFO, OAK on the list; San Jose not
On Wednesday morning, representatives for both SFO and Oakland’s airport said they were not officially told by the Federal Aviation Administration that they were on any list.
In the meantime, Kaley Skantz, spokeswoman for Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport, said the airport “will continue to operate at full staffing levels while also preparing for any changes to operations.”
Doug Yakel, a spokesman for SFO, said that the airport is “awre of the FAA’s publicly stated intention to reduce air traffic but have not received any direct notification from the FAA.”
He added that ultimately, each airline will determine how to comply with the FAA order, and “we know they will make every effort to proactively notify their affected customers.”
San Jose’s airport was not on the list. Â Representatives said that operations at SJC were continuing without disruption, but urged passengers to check in as there could be ripple effects.
Some passengers were worried.Â
“I don’t know, that seems crazy to me,” said Cassie Scroggins, who was traveling from SFO to Las Vegas on Wednesday.Â
Jim Dietz, who was on his way to San Diego from San Francisco, said he thinks the government shutdown should end.Â
“I think its going to be chaos if they shut down anymore than what they’re already doing,” he said.Â
Airlines scrambling
With just hours to go, airlines scrambled Thursday to figure out where to cut, and travelers with plans for the weekend and beyond were waiting nervously to see if their flights would take off as scheduled.
Airlines will phase in the cuts at the direction of the FAA, starting with eliminating 4% of flights at the 40 airports on Friday and working up to 10%, according to three people familiar with what the agency said, but who were not authorized to discuss it publicly.
United Airlines will cut 4% of its flights over the weekend based on guidance from the FAA, said company spokesperson Josh Freed.
The FAA had not yet published an official order as of midday Thursday and didn’t immediately respond to questions about implementation details.
Some airlines planned to focus on slashing routes to and from small and medium-sized cities.
“This is going to have a noticeable impact across the U.S. air transportation system,” industry analyst Henry Harteveldt said.
The FAA said Wednesday it would reduce air traffic by 10% across “high-volume” markets to maintain travel safety as air traffic controllers exhibit signs of strain during the shutdown.
It is imposing the flight reductions to relieve pressure on air traffic controllers who are working without pay during the government shutdown and have been increasingly calling off work. The move also comes as the Trump administration is ramping up pressure on Democrats in Congress to end the shutdown.
Controllers have already missed one full paycheck and are scheduled to again receive nothing next week as the shutdown drags on.
The FAA has been delaying flights at times when airports or its other facilities are short on controllers.
Alerts should be forthcoming
Passengers should start to be notified about cancellations Thursday. Airlines said they would try to minimize the impact on customers, some of whom will see weekend travel plans disrupted with little notice.
United, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines said they would offer refunds to passengers who opt not to fly, even if they purchased tickets that aren’t normally refundable.
The head of Frontier Airlines recommended that travelers buy backup tickets with another airline to avoid being stranded.
The cuts also could disrupt package deliveries because two airports with major distribution centers are on the list — FedEx operates at the airport in Memphis, Tennessee, and UPS in Louisville, Kentucky, the site of this week’s deadly cargo plane crash.
The cuts could affect as many as 1,800 flights, or upward of 268,000 passengers, per day, according to an estimate by aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Airlines are used to dealing with cutting thousands of flights on short notice during severe weather, but the difference now is that these cuts during the shutdown will last indefinitely until safety data improves.
“I’m not aware in my 35-year history in the aviation market where we’ve had a situation where we’re taking these kinds of measures,” FAA administrator Bryan Bedford said Wednesday. “We’re in new territory in terms of government shutdowns.”
Shutdown already straining airlines
Air traffic controllers have been working unpaid since the shutdown began Oct. 1. Most work mandatory overtime six days a week, leaving little time for side jobs to help cover bills and other expenses unless they call out.
Mounting staffing pressures are forcing the agency to act, Bedford said.
“We can’t ignore it,” he said.
Bedford and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said they would work with airline executives to figure out how to safely implement the reductions.
Major airlines, aviation unions and the broader travel industry have been urging Congress to end the shutdown, which on Wednesday became the longest on record.
The shutdown is putting unnecessary strain on the system, disrupting travel and damaging confidence in the U.S. air travel experience,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman.
Duffy warned earlier this week that there could be chaos in the skies if the shutdown drags on long enough for air traffic controllers to miss a paycheck next week.
Controller staffing worsening
Staffing can run short both in regional control centers that manage multiple airports and in individual airport towers, but they don’t always lead to flight disruptions. Throughout October, flight delays caused by staffing problems had been largely isolated and temporary.
But the past weekend brought some of the worst staffing issues since the start of the shutdown.
From Friday to Sunday evening, at least 39 air traffic control facilities reported potential staffing limits, according to an Associated Press analysis of operations plans shared through the Air Traffic Control System Command Center system. The figure, which is likely an undercount, is well above the average for weekends before the shutdown.
Brian Scroggins, who was at SFO on Wednesday, said he was returning to Vegas from a two-day trip.Â
“I was just looking on Tik Tok,” he said. “I’m stoked we’re coming home today and not tomorrow.”Â
Here is a list of airports affected:
1. Anchorage International in Alaska
2. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International in Georgia
3. Boston Logan International in Massachusetts
4. Baltimore/Washington International in Maryland
5. Charlotte Douglas International in North Carolina
6. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International in Ohio
7. Dallas Love Field in Texas
8. Ronald Reagan Washington National in Virginia
9. Denver International in Colorado
10. Dallas/Fort Worth International in Texas
11. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County in Michigan
12. Newark Liberty International in New Jersey
13. Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International in Florida
14. Honolulu International in Hawaii
15. Houston Hobby in Texas
16. Washington Dulles International in Virginia
17. George Bush Houston Intercontinental in Texas
18. Indianapolis International in Indiana
19. John F. Kennedy International in New York
20. Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas
21. Los Angeles International in California
22. LaGuardia Airport in New York
23. Orlando International in Florida
24. Chicago Midway International in Illinois
25. Memphis International in Tennessee
26. Miami International in Florida
27. Minneapolis/St Paul International in Minnesota
28. Oakland International in California
29. Ontario International in California
30. Chicago O`Hare International in Illinois
31. Portland International in Oregon
32. Philadelphia International in Pennsylvania
33. Phoenix Sky Harbor International in Arizona
34. San Diego International in California
35. Louisville International in Kentucky
36. Seattle/Tacoma International in Washington
37. San Francisco International in California
38. Salt Lake City International in Utah
39. Teterboro in New Jersey
40. Tampa International in Florida
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Associated Press journalists Wyatte Grantham-Philips in New York and Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed. KTVU’s James Torrez and Lisa Fernandez contributed to this report.Â