Air travellers face frustration as FAA's further drop in flights takes effect

Air travellers could face more frustration as busy US airports need to meet a higher Federal Aviation Administration target for reducing flights Tuesday after already cancelling thousands to scale back demands on the nations aviation system during the government shutdownThe FAA ordered domestic airlines last week to drop 4 per cent of their flights at 40 major US airports saying absences and signs of stress among traffic controllers made it imperative to act in the name of public safetyAfter already cancelling more than 7900 since Friday the goal for cutting flights is set to rise to 6 per cent on Tuesday and again to 10 per cent on FridayBut it was unclear exactly how many additional flights would need to be cancelled Tuesday The average cancellation rate over the last few days already exceeded the FAAs requirement according to aviation analytics company Cirium The FAA also expanded its flight restrictions Monday barring business jets and many private flights from using a dozen airports already under commercial flight limitsHowever controller shortages continued to lead to flight delays including one of about five hours for arriving flights Monday evening at Chicago OHare International Airport where wintry weather added to staffingrelated disruptions earlier in the dayThe FAA warned that staffing at over a dozen towers and control centres could delay planes departing for Phoenix San Diego the New York area and Houston among other citiesFreezing weather in parts of the country on Tuesday could cause further delays and cancellationsThe Senate passed legislation Monday to reopen the government but the bill still needs to clear the House and final passage could be days awayTransportation Secretary Sean Duffy made clear last week that flight cuts will remain until the FAA sees staffing levels stabilise at its air traffic control facilitiesMany planes also arent where theyre supposed to be which could slow the airlines return to normal operations even after the FAA lifts the order said Mike Taylor who leads research on airports and airlines at JD PowerTodd Walker said he missed his moms 80th birthday when his flight was cancelled over the weekendAll of this has real negative consequences for millions of Americans and its 100 per cent unnecessary and avoidable he saidThe FAA had come under criticism after its original order only applied to a very small subsection of private planes But some want to see even more donePatriotic Millionaires a group of wealthy Americans pushing for more progressive taxes is calling for all private jets to be grounded during the shutdownRich people are taking their joyrides while average Americans dont make it to grandmas bedside in time said Erica Payne its founder and presidentShe added that none of its members that still fly private have reported cancellations or delays since the FAAs order took effectTuesday marks the second missed payday for controllers Some have started calling out of work citing stress and the need to take on second jobsIts unclear how quickly controllers might be paid once the shutdown ends it took more than two months to receive full back pay after the 35day shutdown that ended in 2019 said Nick Daniels president of the National Air Traffic Controllers AssociationPresident Donald Trump took to social media on Monday to pressure controllers to get back to work NOW He called for a USD 10000 bonus for those whove stayed on the job and suggested docking pay for those who haventDaniels said the shutdown has made controllers demanding jobs even more stressful leading to fatigue and increased risks He said the number who are retiring or quitting is growing by the dayThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever