The longest government shutdown in U.S. history enters its 39th day on Saturday as the Senate extends negotiations into the weekend, and the peak travel season is increasingly at risk.
Thanksgiving is 18 days away, with December holidays just around the corner. But the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) just ordered airlines to reduce their air traffic as the industry becomes increasingly short-staffed.
“This is frustrating. We don’t need to be in this position. We’ve got to get the government back open so we don’t have to cancel flights,” Isom said.
American Airlines canceled more than 200 out of 6,200 scheduled flights on Friday, he added. Reductions mainly impacted smaller aircraft and came via lower frequencies of flights—like from Miami to Orlando or from Dallas-Fort Worth to Corpus Christi.
So far, American isn’t cancelling any service to smaller markets, but Isom warned that flight cancellations will rise over time.
Flights are getting canceled because of a shortage of air traffic controllers during the government shutdown, which has forced them to work without pay.
But since they still must pay bills, air traffic controllers are calling out sick to take on secondary jobs, creating a staffing crunch. Federal aviation employees are set to miss their second paycheck on Tuesday, if the government shutdown continues—which Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Friday will lead to a higher staff reduction.
Isom told CNBC that as flight disruptions pile up, so will complications. “Managing the industry becomes exponentially harder as you increase the level of cancellations.”
