As the government shutdown drags into its 38th day and forced flight reductions begin taking effect, the number of daily flight cancellations Americans are experiencing has skyrocketed.
By noon Friday, airlines had slashed 850 flights within, into, or out of the United States – quadruple the number of cancellations made the previous day.
The numbers will only increase over the coming days as 40 major U.S. airports implement the Federal Aviation Administration’s order to reduce flight volume by 10%, a necessary safety measure as staffing shortages become more severe.
Air traffic controllers and other federal employees deemed “essential” have been forced to work without pay for over a month, and many are taking off work to find odd jobs. With a deadlocked Congress providing no end in sight to the record-long shutdown, millions of flyers will likely be impacted.
At Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, just outside of Washington, D.C., frustration with U.S. lawmakers’ inability to reach a government funding agreement is high.
The Center Square ran into multiple flyers who have already experienced flight delays or cancellations.
Donna Baniewicz from Newtown, Pennsylvania, was supposed to meet her son at the airport so they could travel to Maryland for a family celebration, but his flight was delayed by three hours.
“It’s frustrating because this shouldn’t be happening at this day and age, the whole government shut down. It’s just ridiculous,” Baniewicz told The Center Square. “I am embarrassed as an American citizen that we’re going through this.”
Baniewicz, who owns a physical therapy clinic with her husband in Newtown, Pennsylvania, said the shutdown is also impacting their business.
“We’re physical therapists, and because of the government shutdown, Medicare is not paying,” she said. “There’s no reason why this should be happening, and there’s no reason why it should be happening for this long.”
The current shutdown is the longest in U.S. history, breaking the previous record of 35 days. This shutdown is also the first one in modern history to impact air travel so severely.
“I mean, we have smart people out there. We need to come up with a solution, and we can’t come up with a solution to fix this? It’s kind of sad,” Baniewicz said. “I’m usually a very calm person, but this is insane.”
Republicans need at least seven Democratic votes for their House-passed funding bill to advance in the Senate, but Democrats are still refusing to cooperate unless they receive certain Obamacare policy wins in return.
The Senate will vote on the funding bill, a Continuing Resolution to reopen and temporarily fund the government, for the 15th time Friday. It is expected to fail.
