INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis International Airport is one of 40 airports expected to see fewer flights starting on Friday, November 7.
With still no movement on Capitol Hill to end the government shutdown, airline passengers are now asking, "What about us?"
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The FAA said it's an effort to maintain safe airspace operations as the federal government shutdown continues. This comes as air traffic control, TSA and airlines beg for the shutdown to end.
"The system is critically staffed. It's running on a razor's edge," said Drew MacQueen, Great Lakes Regional Vice President for the national Air Traffic Controllers Association.
MacQueen represents Indiana and seven other states.
He said the shutdown is making short staffing worse than it was.
"Most controllers are working mandatory overtime. They're working six-day work weeks, 10-hour days, which is stressful enough, and having no work-life balance there, basically. Now, throw on top of it, missing not one paycheck, but two paychecks and having no end in sight," he said.
He applauds the FAA for reducing flights at 40 airports. He said the effort slows down the chaos.
So what does this mean for passengers?
Most airlines tell WRTV the best way for you to find out about a flight disruption is to download the app for whichever airline you are flying.
You can also check their website and flight screens, but the quickest way will be from your phone.
Airlines are also offering free refunds and flight changes, but make sure to check each policy.
"Traffic controllers, the Federal Aviation Administration, we will never put the flying public at risk," MacQueen said. "This lightens the pressure."
Airlines say the majority of customers won't be impacted along with international travel.
There is uncertainty as holiday travel approaches.
"We're hoping for a good flight and we're hoping we'll be back here again," said Indy traveler Vicki Welsh-Houston.
"Nationwide, there are 45,000 flights a day. So, you're talking roughly 4,500 to 5,000 flights a day that could be altered from the system," said MacQueen.
TSA told WRTV that around 365 TSA employees are still working at Indy's airport without a paycheck.
"I probably would not want to come to work if I wasn't getting paid, but we appreciate what they do every day. We know it's a thankless job, but I'll be the one to say thank you to all of them," said a traveler.
Workers will be back paid, but MacQueen said the damage is already done.
"Getting back pay after you're evicted doesn't matter. Getting back pay after your car has been repossessed doesn't matter. Imagine going to the grocery store and filling up your cart for food for your children and going to the cashier, saying, 'I'll pay you when the government shutdown is over.' Doesn't work. So again, these are really affecting controllers' lives day in and day out, so this thing has to end soon," he said.
"At some point, controllers are going to have to find income streams to pay the bills. I was just on the phone this morning talking about a controller, a female controller who has four children, two special needs. Her daycare bill is $3,000 a month. She's out of money. She doesn't know what to do," said MacQueen.
Airlines also urge the shutdown to end.
Delta Airlines:
Delta is complying with a directive from the FAA and the U.S. Department of Transportation to reduce flights at 40 major U.S. airports beginning Friday, Nov 7.We will work to give customers as much notice as possible about any changes to their flights and apologize for any inconvenience these changes may cause. We encourage customers to check their flight status on delta.com or the Fly Delta app for the latest information.
- Delta expects to operate the vast majority of our flights as scheduled, including all long-haul international service, and will work to minimize customer impact while keeping safety our top priority.
- We are providing additional flexibility to our customers traveling to, from or through the impacted markets during the impacted travel period to change, cancel or refund their flights, including Delta Main Basic fares, without penalty during this travel period. See travel waiver details here.
These flight reductions are in response to air traffic control staffing shortages stemming from the ongoing government shutdown and are intended to maintain safety across the national airspace system.
Southwest Airlines:
Southwest Airlines is determining the scheduling adjustments needed to meet the required FAA flight reductions. While the vast majority of our Customers’ flights will not be disrupted, all Southwest Customers, with travel booked through next Wednesday, November 12, may adjust their travel plans at no cost, or receive a refund if they choose not to travel, regardless of whether their flight is affected. We will communicate directly with affected Customers as soon as possible. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees. We continue to urge Congress to immediately resolve its impasse and restore the National Airspace System to its full capacity.
American Airlines:
Due to the ongoing government shutdown and nationwide air traffic control staffing shortages, the FAA has directed airlines to reduce flight schedules to continue to maintain safe airspace operations beginning Friday, Nov. 7. Flights on Thursday, Nov. 6, will operate as planned.
We expect the vast majority of our customers’ travel will be unaffected, and long-haul international travel will remain as scheduled. As schedule changes are made, we’ll proactively reach out to customers who are impacted. As always, we encourage all customers to check their flight status on aa.com or the mobile app, which will provide real-time updates.
Disrupting customers’ plans is the last thing we want to do. To provide additional flexibility during the impacted travel period, customers whose flights are cancelled for any reason or who choose not to travel will be able to change their flight or request a refund, without any penalty.
In the meantime, we continue to urge leaders in Washington to reach an immediate resolution to end the shutdown. We remain grateful to the air traffic controllers, TSA officers, CBP officers and other federal employees who are working right now without pay — all to get our customers where they need to be safely — as well as our American Airlines team members who always work to take the best care of our customers.
United Airlines:
Earlier today, the FAA and DOT directed every airline to reduce their schedules during the government shutdown, across 40 domestic airports. The FAA's goal is to relieve pressure on the aviation system so that we can all continue to operate safely. That is the FAA's highest priority, and ours as well. No matter what environment we're operating in, we will not compromise on safety.
These reductions will start on Friday, November 7, and we will continue to make rolling updates to our schedule as the government shutdown continues so we can give our customers several days' advance notice and to minimize disruption for them and for all of you.
United's long-haul international flying and our hub-to-hub flying will not be impacted by this schedule reduction direction from the FAA. That's important to maintain the integrity of our network, give impacted customers as many options as possible to resume their trip, and sustain our crew pairing systems.
Instead, we will focus our schedule reductions on regional flying and domestic mainline flights that do not travel between our hubs.
We'll use our app, website and push notifications to communicate to customers directly if their flight changes, and to offer rebooking options. We want to provide them with as much information as we can and in a way that's simple and easy to understand.
And importantly, any customer traveling during this period is eligible for a refund if they do not wish to fly – even if their flight isn't impacted. That includes non-refundable tickets and those customers with basic economy tickets.
Even with these schedule reductions, United and its United Express partners will still offer about 4,000 flights per day to fly our customers to their destinations. And because of the early November timing, our flights have more seats available than before the summer, meaning we should be able to find seats for many customers even if their flight is canceled.
Finally, thank you for going above and beyond during this government shutdown to take care of our customers and one another. Your professionalism and care will be more important than ever in the days ahead.
