Airline passenger reacts to air traffic reduction: “It’s horrible”

Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./CBS12 News — The FAA’s planned reduction of air traffic in the U.S. has begun.

There are 40 airports across the nation where the FAA is cutting air traffic starting today.

One of those 40 airports is Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

According to flightaware.com, the airport in Ft. Lauderdale has 19 canceled flights and 112 flight delays today.

Airline passengers say they’re just trying to make the best of it.

“It’s horrible. I think they need to try to rectify something. This is really bad,” said Tracy Brown, an airline passenger from Trenton, New Jersey.

Brown is trying to get home after going on a cruise with family members to the Bahamas.

She says her 3pm flight on JetBlue was canceled, and now she hopes to fly out Friday night at 8:30.

“I just feel like they need to come to a conclusion with the stalemate that they can’t get through, work through. I think the government needs to try to do something,” Brown said.

Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is on the list of 40 airports across the U.S. where the FAA is cutting air traffic by up to 10%, starting at a 4% reduction today.

The U.S. Secretary of Transportation says the cuts are necessary to maintain safe air travel because of a shortage of air traffic controllers, who’ve been working without pay for weeks due to the government shutdown.

“The hope is that our airplane will be somewhat on time and get us to where we need to go, which is Westchester,” said Jill Hess, a retired police officer and airline passenger from New York.

She’s trying to fly home from Ft. Lauderdale on JetBlue.

“Inconvenience, yes, irritation, no. I tend to go with the flow. I don’t get upset about things I have no control over and I have no control over this,” Hess said.

Some air travelers say the 10% reduction in air traffic is causing a big hassle for them.

One airline passenger says his JetBlue flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Newark today was canceled and now he and his two kids ages 7 and 9, are stuck in Ft. Lauderdale until Saturday.

“Wow, you know, it’s just a big inconvenience for everyone. You know, we all have plans, and we all like to stick to our plans, and this is just an inconvenience for all of us.” said Robert Brown, a pipe fitter and airline passenger who lives in New Jersey.

Airline passenger Jill Hess says the government shutdown needs to end.

“There’s no reason for the military, the federal police, the air traffic controllers not to be paid. They should not pay Congress and maybe things would get done,” Hess said.

The FAA says the reduction in air traffic will be done gradually, with the goal of achieving the full 10% reduction by next week.