US airlines cancel over 1,000 flights for a second straight day largely due to government shutdown

By John Seewer Associated Press U S airlines again canceled more than flights on Saturday the second day of the Federal Aviation Administration s mandate to reduce air traffic because of the ruling body shutdown Related Articles US ruling body shutdown forces chosen overseas bases to stop paying workers Washington s struggling business sector takes another hit from the authorities shutdown What to know if your excursion plans are impacted by the FAA s flight cancellations Letters This voting process repudiates Donald Trump and his policies Trump turns to Supreme Court after judge leaves order in place requiring full SNAP payments for November So far the slowdown at a large number of of the nation s busiest airports hasn t caused widespread disruptions But it has deepened the impact felt by the nation s longest federal shutdown We all expedition We all have somewhere to be announced Emmy Holguin who was flying from Miami Saturday to see family in the Dominican Republic I m hoping that the leadership can take care of this Analysts warn that the upheaval will intensify and spread far beyond air movement if cancellations keep growing and reach into Thanksgiving week Already there are concerns about the squeeze on tourism destinations and holiday shipping Here s what to know about the flight reductions How countless flights have been canceled Flight disruptions ticked up a bit on Saturday typically a slow progress day as each of the first two days creeped above cancellations according to FlightAware a website that tracks flights The airport serving Charlotte North Carolina saw arriving and departing flights canceled by mid-afternoon Saturday Airports in Atlanta Chicago Denver and Newark New Jersey also saw numerous disruptions throughout the day Ongoing staffing shortages in radar centers and control towers added to the cancellations and delays on Saturday at several East Coast airports including those around New York City Not all the cancellations were due to the FAA order and those numbers represent just a small portion of the overall flights nationwide But they are certain to rise in the coming days if the slowdown continues The FAA revealed the reductions impacting all commercial airlines are starting at of flights at targeted airports and will be bumped up again on Tuesday before hitting of flights on Friday Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned this week that even more flight cuts might be needed if the authorities shutdown continues and more air traffic controllers are off the job Why are the flights being canceled Air traffic controllers have gone without paychecks for nearly a month as the shutdown continues leading a large number of to call in sick and add to already existing staffing shortages Majority of controllers are working mandatory overtime six days a week during the shutdown without pay and specific are taking second jobs to pay their bills the National Air Traffic Controllers Association has reported How are passengers being affected Bulk were relieved to find that airlines largely stayed on schedule Friday and those whose flights were called off were able to expeditiously rebook So far longer international flights haven t been interrupted There is still a lot of uncertainty about what flights will be canceled next And not everyone has the means to pay for a hotel or deal with a last-minute disruption reported Heather Xu who was in Miami on Saturday after a cruise and flying home to Puerto Rico Excursion is stressful enough Then you put these disruptions in place and it really makes everything more challenging she reported Rental car companies disclosed a sharp increase in one-way reservations Friday and particular people are exclusively canceling flights altogether Diana Alvear of Bridgewater New Jersey canceled her family s trip next weekend to see her in-laws in California because of concerns about flying when controllers are working long hours and understaffed She also was nervous about being stranded a huge debacle for work United Airlines gave her credit for the airfare but the family is still out nearly for the deposit on an Airbnb This has been costly to us and it s a huge disappointment for us and our family she reported It s really weighing on our hearts that we had to do this What could be the impacts beyond air movement First there s the likely for higher prices in stores as nearly half of all U S air freight is shipped in the bellies of customer aircraft Major flight disruptions could bring higher shipping costs that get passed on to consumers mentioned Patrick Penfield professor of supply chain practice at Syracuse University More losses will ripple through the market system if the slowdown continues from tourism to manufacturing announced Greg Raiff CEO of Elevate Aviation Group This shutdown is going to impact everything from cargo aircraft to people getting to business meetings to tourists being able to passage he noted It s going to hit the hotel taxes and city taxes There s a cascading effect that results from this thing Associated Press journalists Cody Jackson in Miami Paul Wiseman in Washington Josh Funk in Omaha Nebraska and Anne D Innocenzio in New York contributed