JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Federal Aviation Administration‘s unprecedented order to scale back flights nationwide because of the record-long government shutdown took effect Friday morning.
According to FlightAware, as of 6 a.m., there have been 532 delays and 817 cancellations for flights within, into or out of the United States. While Jacksonville International Airport is not on the list, a trickledown is expected because of reductions at important hubs like Atlanta, Houston and Miami.
As of 6 a.m., FlightAware showed one delayed flight and one cancellation at JAX.
The cancellations and delays come two days after the FAA announced it would be reducing air traffic by 10% across 40 “high-volume” markets to maintain travel safety during the ongoing government shutdown. While JAX is not on the list, Michael Stewart, the Jacksonville Aviation Authority’s vice president of external affairs, told News4JAX on Thursday that “the entire system will be impacted” by the cuts.
Stewart encouraged JAX travelers to check with their airline ahead of their trips.
“It is important that travelers check with their airline for any impact these changes may have on their scheduled flight,” Stewart said.
The FAA said the reductions would start at 4% and ramp up to 10% by Nov. 14. They are to be in effect between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. and impact all commercial airlines.
The agency said the cutbacks are necessary to relieve pressure on air traffic controllers who have been working without pay for more than a month. Many are pulling six-day work weeks with mandatory overtime, and increasing numbers of them have begun calling out as the financial strain and exhaustion mount.
The order comes as the Trump administration is ramping up pressure on Democrats in Congress to end the shutdown.
Travelers at JAX were arriving earlier at the airport to check in for their flights to make sure things are still good to go. News4JAX observed travelers constantly at the boards that list the different flights.
One man, who was on his way to San Jose, California, said he has a connecting flight through Atlanta, which is on that list of airports seeing the flight reductions.
He said he is more concerned about his trip coming back than leaving.
“I think I will be pretty good leaving today. I’m really only worried about coming home because it is a later flight in the day. So I will probably have to look to see if there’s anything earlier in the day just to save myself. Because I feel like the later you fly in the day, the more chance there is for a delay in cancellation. I will probably be proactive about changing my flight coming back home to something earlier,” Eric Dunn told News4JAX.
Airlines said they would try to minimize impact on customers. Some planned to focus on slashing routes to and from small and medium-size cities.
Carriers are required to refund customers whose flights are canceled but not to cover secondary costs such as food and hotel accommodations unless a delay or cancellation results from a contributing factor that is within the control of the airlines, according to the Department of Transportation.
Read the full list of impacted airports below:
Anchorage International
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
Boston Logan International
Baltimore/Washington International
Charlotte Douglas International
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International
Dallas Love
Ronald Reagan Washington National
Denver International
Dallas/Fort Worth International
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County
Newark Liberty International
Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International
Honolulu International
Houston Hobby
Washington Dulles International
George Bush Houston Intercontinental
Indianapolis International
New York John F Kennedy International
Las Vegas McCarran International
Los Angeles International
New York LaGuardia
Orlando International
Chicago Midway
Memphis International
Miami International
Minneapolis/St Paul International
Oakland International
Ontario International
Chicago O’Hare International
Portland International
Philadelphia International
Phoenix Sky Harbor International
San Diego International
Louisville International
Seattle/Tacoma International
San Francisco International
Salt Lake City International
Teterboro
Tampa International
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Associated Press journalists Hallie Golden in Seattle, Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama, and Wyatte Grantham-Philips in New York contributed.
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