Los Angeles International Airport is one of 40 U.S. airports where flight restrictions remain in place despite the end of the government shut down.Mario Tama/Getty Images
The end of the longest-ever U.S. government shutdown late Wednesday has averted deeper cuts to domestic flights, but it’s still unclear when restrictions on 40 airports across the country will be lifted.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration says last week’s directive to cut domestic flights won’t increase past six per cent on Thursday as planned. Originally the order started at four per cent on Friday, moving to six per cent on Tuesday, and called for those flight cuts to increase to eight per cent Thursday and top out at ten per cent on Friday.
The FAA imposed the cuts – which have cancelled more than 10,000 flights since Friday – to take pressure off overworked air traffic controllers. As federal employees, they went without pay during the record 43-day-shutdown.
Trump signs bill ending the longest U.S. government shutdown in history
While international flights are exempt from the order, experts say the directive certainly caused disruptions for Canadians travelling to, from or through the U.S, and potentially within Canada as well.
Here’s a closer look at what to know about the cancellations and how they could still impact Canadian passengers.
Which airports are affected by flight cancellations?
A list obtained by the Associated Press includes 40 airports with Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Miami, Newark and San Francisco also among them. Here is the full list of all 40 airports and how they are impacted:
Why did the U.S. government shutdown cause flight cancellations?
The FAA's reduction was in part an effort to keep airspace safe amid staffing shortages due to the government shutdown.Brandon Bell/Getty Images
A number of air traffic controllers called out sick while they were going without pay during the shutdown, and the spike in understaffing at airport towers and regional control centres prompted the flight cut order due to concerns about safety.
The financial pressure on controllers, many of whom were working mandatory overtime six days a week, drove some of them to seek out side jobs to help make ends meet and call out of work while they dealt with the stress.
The existing shortage of several thousand controllers is so bad that even a small number of absences in some locations caused problems. Last Saturday, the staff shortages peaked when 81 different FAA facilities warned they were running low on workers, forcing the airlines to cut additional flights.
Why has the U.S. government shut down? Here’s what to know
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Friday only a few controllers were absent from work Thursday as operations dramatically improved.
On Friday, air traffic controllers and other FAA employees began receiving back pay equal to about 70% of what they are owed excluding overtime, the FAA and union officials said. The rest it set to come over the next couple paycheques.
When will the U.S. flight cancellations end?
The George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas is one of 40 still under flight restrictions.Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Officials at FAA and the Transportation Department haven’t offered any updates about when they will lift the order. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said the decision will be based on the safety data that experts at the FAA are watching closely.
“We’re reviewing the data provided and are working hard to return the airspace back to normal,” he said Friday.
Major U.S. airlines are urging the FAA to drop the restrictions, and are largely not complying with the six per cent cut. Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, said airlines canceled just 2% of overall flights Friday, down from 3.5% on Wednesday and Thursday.
U.S. airlines cancelled more than 11,000 domestic flights between last Friday and Thursday morning. The airlines have said they will be ready and expect that normal operations will resume within three or four days after the order is lifted.
Some experts have suggested that problems might linger longer than that and could affect U.S. Thanksgiving travel, so it is difficult to predict whether the airlines will be able to recover from this as quickly as they do after a major snowstorm disrupts their operations and leaves planes and crews out of position.
“We are eager to resume normal operations over the next few days once the FAA gives clearance. We look forward to welcoming 31 million passengers—a new record—to our flights during the upcoming Thanksgiving travel period, beginning next Friday,” the Airlines for America trade group said Thursday.
How have flight cancellations affect Canadian travellers?
An Air Canada commercial airliner takes-off from Los Angeles International Airport last week. International flights are exempt from the cuts, but several inbound flights from the U.S. have been delayed.Mike Blake/Reuters
International flights, including those between Canada and the U.S., are exempt from the FAA’s directive. However some Canadian passengers’ connecting flights within the United States are at risk of being cancelled, and many flights to and from the U.S. are facing delays.
When there is no direct flight to a passenger’s final U.S. destination, Canadian airlines offer connecting flights with American partner airlines. Air Canada and WestJet both partner with United Airlines, while WestJet’s other U.S. partners include Delta, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines.
A look of the arrivals boards at major Canadian airports Thursday afternoon showed many flights from the U.S. were delayed by at least 30 minutes, while departures indicated minor delays to only some U.S.-bound flights.
Vancouver International Airport said last week it didn’t anticipate an immediate impact to flights or passengers, but that could change if the reductions continue.
“The integrated nature of how airlines use aircraft and crew does have the potential for knock-on effects to routes between Canada and the U.S. should this escalate,” airport spokesperson Reena Gacad Kirkpatrick said in an e-mailed statement to The Globe.
Montreal Trudeau International Airport “is fully operational, but of course, our teams are monitoring the situation closely, in collaboration with our partners,” spokesperson Émilie Chevrette told The Globe last week.
The Globe and Mail has also reached out to Toronto Pearson International for comment.
How have Canadian airlines responded?
Air Canada, WestJet and Porter flew 4,000 flights per week between the U.S. and Canada last month, including from YVR Vancouver International Airport.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Canada’s major airlines have faced some delays and said they are watching the situation closely.
Air Canada said it is maintaining its normal schedule but any passengers booked on connecting flights with United Airlines can rebook or defer their travel with no change fee.
WestJet spokesperson Julia Brunet said the airline is in close contact with its U.S. partners “will proactively manage our operations to minimize any potential disruptions going forward.”
For Porter Airlines, FAA staffing shortages have already caused delays in key markets south of the border. The airline allowed free flight changes to some U.S. destinations until Monday, just in case.
“While we anticipate some disruptions due to FAA staffing shortages, this is currently being managed over the course of each day based on the circumstances,” Porter spokesperson Brad Cicero said in an e-mailed statement to The Globe last week.
Air Canada, WestJet and Porter flew 4,000 flights per week between the U.S. and Canada last month, according to figures from aviation data firm Cirium.
If you booked a connecting flight separately and not through a Canadian airline, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines both said they would offer refunds to travellers who opt not to fly, even if they have tickets that wouldn’t typically be eligible for refunds.
What should I do if I’m flying between Canada and the U.S.?
Canadian airlines and airports are advising passengers to check airline and airport websites for their latest flight information.Brandon Bell/Getty Images
The FAA has advised passengers to expect delays and check their flight status through their departing airport’s website.
Both Vancouver and Montreal’s airports also recommend Canadian travellers check their airline’s website or airport’s website to ensure they have the most up-to-date flight information, particularly if they are travelling to the U.S. or returning on a U.S. airline.
Has the FAA cancelled flights before?
People wait in line at a security checkpoint at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, one of the 40 airports being affected by cuts.Brandon Bell/Getty Images
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said last 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 last Wednesday.
Staffing problems led to delays throughout October, but they were mostly isolated and temporary. Two weeks ago, 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. The figure, which is likely an undercount, is well above the average for weekends before the shutdown.
During weekends from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, the average number of airport towers, regional control centres and facilities monitoring traffic at higher altitudes that announced potential staffing issues was 8.3, according to the AP analysis.
With reports from Moira Wyton, Eric Atkins and The Canadian Press