Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: U.S. airlines cancelled 1,460 flights on Day 2 of government-mandated flight cuts across the country and thousands of flights were delayed, causing mounting travel woes as air-traffic-controller absences spiked amid the federal government shutdown.
Millions of Americans expecting to fly this month could have their plans grounded weeks ahead of the holiday travel season if the longest government shutdown in US history drags on.
Starting November 7 , the Trump administration started cutting flights at 40 airports nationwide by 4 per cent and planned to incrementally increase the reduction to 10 per cent by next weekend if the shutdown continued. “The reduction in flights will be restricted to 40 “high-volume traffic markets,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said. “We’re going to ask the airlines to work with us collaboratively to reduce their schedules.”
The list of airports mentioned in the FAA’s order issued includes New York City’s three major hubs – New York LaGuardia, New York John F. Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International. Other impacted airports in the Northeast include Boston Logan International, Philadelphia International and Teterboro in New Jersey.
A 10 per cent reduction in flights as mandated by the FAA could result in thousands of canceled flights a day – an unprecedented cut. While most major airlines said the impact would be limited, the four largest US airlines have preemptively canceled hundreds of flights.
