The Federal Aviation Administration’s unprecedented order to scale back flights nationwide because of the record-long government shutdown took effect Friday morning, with some passengers trying to figure out backup travel plans.

Airlines scrambled to adjust their schedules and began canceling flights Thursday in anticipation of the FAA’s official order, while travelers with plans for the weekend and beyond waited nervously to learn if their flights would take off as scheduled. Airlines also planned cancellations into the weekend, directing passengers to check apps to learn their flight status.

The 40 airports selected by the FAA span more than two dozen states.

Lehigh Valley International Airport outside Allentown is not on the list of airports selected. But its carriers serve hubs that are directly impacted, like Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International in Georgia, Chicago O’Hare International in Illinois and Charlotte Douglas International in North Carolina.

ABE, the Lehigh Valley airport’s identifier, also offers bus service to another airport on the FAA’s list — Philadelphia International.

Colin Riccobon, spokesman for the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority that owns and operates ABE, likened the possible effects of the FAA’s order to weather. Think of a storm out West or in Orlando that can throw off flight schedules for the Lehigh Valley, he said. The same goes for longer waits for security checks at affected airports that can also impact scheduling locally.

“We are just going to encourage passengers to stay engaged in their travel, whether it be today with this starting or the weeks ahead, because the airlines are going to be the ones indicating to them any changes in their itinerary or schedule,” he told lehighvalleylive.com.

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.

United, American airlines say they were able to rebook most travelers affected by flight cuts so far

United spokesperson Josh Freed said more than 80% of the people affected by the cuts have been rebooked, with the vast majority of those scheduled to reach their destinations within four hours of their original plan.

“We’ve had a lot of success rebooking people is the bottom line,” Freed said.

The airlines focused the cuts on smaller regional flights to airports where they have multiple flights a day. That helped minimize the number of passengers affected and limited the disruptions to the airlines’ plan to position planes and crews in their hubs for the next flight.

American offered examples of some of the cuts it made. Flights from Dallas to San Antonio were cut from 11 a day to 10. Flights from Dallas to northwest Arkansas went from 10 to eight a day. Boston to Reagan National went from 10 flights to nine.

Air Force One cleared for takeoff

Hundreds of flights are being canceled because of the government shutdown, but the president isn’t grounded. He’s expected to jet down to Florida’s Palm Beach on Friday to spend the weekend at Mar-a-Lago, his private resort.

Travelers shift plans with delays rising at US airports

In the scramble to find alternatives to flying, Hertz is reporting a sharp increase in one-way car rentals. One-way reservations have spiked more than 20% through this weekend compared with the same period last year.

Hertz CEO Gil West urged Congress to restore certainty for travelers, saying, “Every day of delay creates unnecessary disruption.”

Has this happened before?

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said this week that he’s never seen these kinds of measures taken before in his nearly four-decade experience in the aviation field.

“We’re in new territory in terms of government shutdowns,” he said.

Staffing problems led to delays throughout October, but they were mostly isolated and temporary. Last weekend, though, saw a change.

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.

Which airports are affected?

The 40 airports selected by the FAA for reductions span more than two dozen states and include hubs such as Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami and Newark, according to an order published by the agency Thursday evening. A full list of affected airports can be found here.

Tips for passengers whose flights are delayed or canceled during the shutdown can be found here.

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.

Industry analyst Henry Harteveldt warned that the reductions will “have a noticeable impact across the U.S. air transportation system.”

More than 815 flights have been called off nationwide, according to FlightAware

Delta Air Lines said it would scratch roughly 170 flights Friday, and American Airlines planned to cut 220 a day through Monday.

Supervising reporter Kurt Bresswein contributed to this report. Reach him at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.

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