{"id":43520,"date":"2025-11-10T18:14:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T18:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/43520\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T18:14:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T18:14:10","slug":"texas-airports-saw-thousands-of-flight-delays-this-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/43520\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Airports Saw Thousands of Flight Delays This Weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

Texas airports were hit with thousands of delays<\/a> and hundreds of flight cancellations over the weekend after the Federal Aviation Administration announced last week it would be cutting flights at the top 40 airports<\/a> in the nation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dallas Love Field, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, George Bush Houston Intercontinental Airport, and Houston\u2019s William P. Hobby Airport saw more than 3,700 combined delays from Friday to Sunday, and 552 flights cancelled, according to FlightAware<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The reductions began last Friday and will gradually increase this week, the FAA said<\/a>, barring an end to the ongoing government shutdown. Even lawmakers attempting to end the shutdown have been inhibited by the airport chaos \u2014 Sunday night, Sen. John Cornyn arrived hours late to a Senate vote<\/a> on a bill that would fund the government through the end of January, due to a delayed flight<\/a> from Texas.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Cornyn confirmed to Chron<\/a> that airport delays caused his tardiness to the vote, casting blame on Democrat and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for the ongoing government shutdown. (Cornyn officially filed to run for re-election<\/a> in Texas over the weekend.)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe senator was held up by flight delays [Sunday] night caused by Chuck Schumer,\u201d the spokesperson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\u2018Hell\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The measure passed the Senate with a vote of 60 to 40, after eight Democrats joined with Republicans. The legislation would reverse layoffs made during the shutdown and ensure furloughed workers receive backpay, but does not extend health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, a crucial measure Democrats had been rallying for, according to the New York Times<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said in a statement<\/a> that airport staff \u2013who have been without pay during the shutdown \u2014 motivated him to join with the Republicans in supporting the bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor 40 days \u2014 the longest shutdown in U.S. history \u2014 federal workers went without paychecks. This includes our air traffic controllers, whose towers were already understaffed,\u201d Durbin said. \u201cThey continued to work 10 hours days, six days per week to keep our airspace safe, with this additional stress at a life-saving job.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reductions in flights come after staffing shortages in air traffic controllers and TSA agents, who are not being paid during the government shutdown, caused many airports to be overwhelmed last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CNN<\/a> Sunday that the flight disruptions were only going to get worse as the holiday season approaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look to the two weeks before Thanksgiving, you\u2019re going to see air travel be reduced to a trickle,\u201d Duffy said.<\/p>\n

The bill pushed forward by the Senate will still need to clear many hurdles to reopen the government, including passing the Senate in another vote, winning House approval, and being signed by President Trump.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, even if the shutdown ends, experts say that the squeeze on airports won\u2019t let up immediately. Hayley Berg, an analyst for travel booking platform Hopper, told USA Today<\/a> that the flight reductions from the FAA may linger while airports work on bumping up their staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not that the day the shutdown ends, this capacity restriction is lifted,\u201d Berg said<\/a>. \u201cThey\u2019re not going to lift this capacity reduction until air traffic control and the FAA are operating at the staffing level they need \u2014 and that might not happen immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to CNN, the FAA also prohibited most private planes<\/a> and business jets from 12 major airports around the country to help with staffing shortages, including George Bush Houston Intercontinental Airport and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.<\/p>\n

Some Texans are turning to alternate methods of transportation as airport delays and cancellations ramp up. A luxury Texas-based bus service saw its business jump by more than 30% last week, attributing the surge in riders to airport flight reductions, according to KHOU-11.<\/a><\/p>\n

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