PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Travelers continue to face delays and cancellations at several airports in the area, including the Philadelphia International Airport.
This comes after the Federal Aviation Administration announced that 40 airports nationwide, are being forced to reduce flights due to the government shutdown.
“Gosh all mighty no! I just want to make my flight this line is atrocious,” a traveler says.
A shared sentiment amongst passengers at the Philadelphia International Airport.
“I figured there’d be some delays and long lines to get through security, and there was, unfortunately, we were delayed an hour and a half,” says Ryan Yan, traveler.
This is one of 40 airports across the nation, including Newark, JFK and LaGuardia that are forced to reduce flights as the government shutdown continues.
“I’m on a plane every week, so I do have a little bit more of a worry now,” a traveler says.
The cuts could mean thousands of flights per day nationwide. Delta Airlines said it would cancel roughly 170 flights Friday, Southwest is calling for 100 Saturday and another 150 Sunday, and American Airlines plans to cut 220 flights daily through Monday.
“We have some serious concerns about coming home on Monday. That’s totally up in the air, and I don’t even know when we’re going to find out,” says Sarah Gorman, traveler.
Flight reductions are starting at 4% and are expected to build up to 10%. According to the flight aware app, there have been at least 30 flight cancellations at the Philadelphia International Airport so far today.
“Get your get your act together, and let’s get back up and running,” a traveler says.
Federal officials say the cuts are to ensure safety as air traffic controllers continue working tirelessly without pay. Earlier this week, it was announced that two security checkpoints at the Philadelphia airport were temporarily closed as TSA agents work without pay.
“Oh my god. It’s a little scary to be thinking about flying right now with the air traffic controllers. I mean, they already work such crazy, long hours and such a stressful job, and now they’re not getting paid and they’re working other jobs to make ends meet,” says Gorman.
Secretary of transportation, Sean Duffy, said flight cuts could go up 15 to 20% if the shutdown continues.
“I mean, isn’t Thanksgiving the busiest travel season of the year? So one would think that congress would make some action happen,” Gorman says.
Some airlines are allowing people to cancel without penalty.
“Definitely get here as early as you can,” Yan says.
Airport officials are advising travelers to contact their airlines and sign up for text or email alerts with the latest flight status information.