SEATAC, Wash. — Passengers are realizing it may take some time to get back to a full slate of flights after the government shutdown prompted flight reductions across the U.S.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted the flight reductions order this morning, leading to a decrease in delayed and canceled flights nationwide, but the pre-holiday fallout is yet to be seen.
The move comes as the FAA concluded its review of safety and air traffic controller staffing, allowing airlines to resume suspended routes. This change is expected to ease the minds of travelers ahead of the busy Thanksgiving travel period.
“I know it’s not a ‘turn the switch on, turn the switch off’ type of process,” said Jack Williams, a Western Washington resident who was seeing his wife off at SEA for a trip she was taking.
He acknowledged the gradual return to normal flight operations, “(I am) prior military, so I know how it was — or how it is — I’m glad they (Transportation Security Administration agents and Air Traffic Controllers) are back at work and getting paid.”
Melanie Strohecker, who recently traveled through multiple airports, including Lexington, KY, Pittsburgh, PA, Denver, CO, and Midway Airport in Chicago, IL, said, “Last week I took three different flights to three different places and I had no problems, but I was very lucky. I did feel a heightened sense of anxiety in general across different airports.”
Danaya Hoover, another traveler, recounted her experience traveling home to Alaska after a vacation in Florida. She was in Fort Lauderdale, FL, where she was offered $650 and an overnight stay to give up her seat on a delayed flight.
“We’ve been planning this girls’ trip for about a year, so there was no stopping us. We were going to, it was worth the risk, but luckily, we didn’t have to face any more than that one delay,” she said.
SEA saw light crowds Monday morning, with many passengers anticipating more delays and cancellations. However, the FAA’s decision to lift flight reductions aims to restore normalcy to flight schedules. As airlines work to reinstate their full schedules, travelers like Melanie Strohecker remain optimistic, expressing confidence in the competence of airline staff to manage the transition.
“I feel people are competent and pretty good at their jobs, so I think they’ll just kind of pick it up and keep going,” said Strohecker.
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