Airing It Out: Shutdown Prompts 10% Flight Reduction

The 38-day government shutdown is about to have an even larger impact on air travel. Starting today, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is implementing flight reductions at 40 major air hubs, including both Houston and Dallas airports. It will begin as a 4% reduction and increase daily up to 10% if the shutdown continues. The FAA says this is necessary in order to relieve stress on the system due to air traffic controllers who are overworked and not getting paid during the shutdown. "I want the folks working the flights I'm on to be well-rested, to be well-compensated, and in a good mental place so they can function at a very high level." says Patrick Arnzen, former airline pilot and CEO of Thrust Flight training school. "We've got this perfect storm right now where we see that readiness degrading, and I give the FAA a lot of credit for kind of getting out in front of this problem."

The flight reductions come after weeks of growing strain on the air travel system due to staffing issues, as TSA agents and air traffic controllers go without pay. That has prompted major airlines and travel-related businesses to join the White House in calling on Democrats to pass a clean government funding bill to end the shutdown, but to no avail. Now, travelers are forced to deal with the consequences. "I think we're gonna see some reduction in available flights, and I think you're going to see increased ticket prices as a result of this," says Arnzen. "And it's gonna cause a lot of people to not be able to get where they really need to go."

Until government funding and pay for these federal workers is restored, there is no short-term quick fix to this issue. Some critics have floated AI as a possible solution, but that is not, and likely never will be, a viable alternative to highly-trained human beings. "Look, we had an air traffic controller shortage prior to this shutdown," says Arnzen. "We were kind of already in crisis mode, and this has really just exacerbated that whole situation."

"If this continues into Thanksgiving or God forbid stretches into Christmas, I think we're gonna have a real mess," he continues. "And I think there's going to be a real loud message from the flying public that we need to get this fixed, and we need to get this fixed quickly."