Aviation suffering in the US will continue This is despite a shutdown agreement almost being reached.
As the government shutdown enters its 43rd day, the House of Representatives has now won the Senate’s compromise agreement to reopen the government. With a series of ballots set to begin Wednesday night.
House Speaker Mike Johnson will need to poll a simple majority to ensure passage. which is expected to happen But experts and the government say air traffic cannot increase even if the deal is signed. And it may take some time to return to normal.
“What happens on Thanksgiving?” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asked incredulously during a news conference Tuesday at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. But right now he’s worried about this coming weekend.
“This Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We will see more massive disruption if governments don’t open up. It will slow down severely,” Duffy warned.
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“We feel there will be significant problems in the airspace … there will be real disruption. I think it will be more than 10%,” he said about flight cancellations. When counting until Wednesday morning Nearly 900 flights were canceled, with 1,200 canceled on Tuesday. That’s double the number (2,400) on Monday.
So far, 5 million passengers have been affected by shutdown-related flight disruptions. And airline costs can be enormous.
Airlines for America (A4A), the leading trade group for airlines like Delta and American, said that once the FAA’s flight reduction orders reach 10%, the group estimates the average U.S. economic impact will be $285 million to $580 million per day. It depends on the degree to which airlines are able to re-accommodate passengers who experienced flight cancellations on remaining flights, the group said.
A4A said that estimate does not include ongoing staffing issues during the shutdown. or costs related to the value of the passenger’s time Reduced bookings and passenger refunds
Duffy said the industry is currently at 6% of airspace cancellations. When asked how long it would take to return to normal after reaching an agreement, He said that would depend on information such as “separation” issues between planes. Complaints from pilots about ATC communications and similar issues
“When the data changes we will go to 4%. [cancellations]Then another 2% and return to normal air travel,” he said.
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This means it may take several days. or several weeks This is before the already strained airline industry returns to normal.