Bay Area air travelers feeling the effect of government shutdown as FAA cuts flights

By CBS Bay Area

At Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport, East Bay native Karol Bush described her morning as anxiety-fueled as she waited for her daughter and grandkids to arrive.

“It was really concerning. I was afraid they weren’t going to be able to get on the plane today and everything,” Bush said.

The ongoing government shutdown is beginning to ripple through the airline industry, leading travelers like Bush to worry about what’s next.

Across the airport, similar stories played out as travelers tried to beat potential disruptions. Susan Brochin decided to move her flight up after hearing the FAA would cut air traffic by 10% starting Friday at major airports, including Oakland.

“I’ll be home … but it’s terrible this whole thing is happening,” Brochin said.

Hollie Mills, in town for a short vacation, said she’s trying her luck and hoping her flight home on Monday isn’t impacted.

“It crossed my mind, like, should I really go? But I’m going to chance it and be back to work on Tuesday,” Mills said.

Travel expert Eric Rosen with The Points Guy says people have reason to be nervous, as the scale of this disruption is rare.

“I think you would have to go back to the air traffic controller strikes in the 80s to see a disruption like this,” Rosen said.

With staffing reductions at 40% nationwide, Rosen expects a domino effect across the country.

“First of all, your flight might be severely delayed or canceled altogether. That’s more likely to be at more regional flights,” Rosen said. “I think you are also going to see longer lines at the TSA checkpoints, mainly because people won’t know if their flight has been delayed or canceled, so we will start seeing a lot of bottlenecks there.”

Rosen advises travelers with nonessential trips to consider canceling now while airlines are still waiving fees. United, American, Southwest, and Delta are all offering free changes and cancellations during the disruption.

He also recommends avoiding connections whenever possible.

“If you have more than one flight … your chances of getting canceled double with two flights, triple with three flights,” Rosen said. “That said, if you do have to connect … give yourself added padding time to make sure you get to that next flight.”

For Bush, the timing couldn’t have been worse.

“With the timing of my son-in-law’s new job, I thought, god, how are we going to make this work if they don’t get down here?” she said.

Fortunately, her family’s flight landed safely, and the reunion in Oakland brought a brief moment of relief amid the uncertainty.

Shutdown-related staffing shortages are considered outside an airline’s control, meaning passengers may not be entitled to compensation. However, if your flight is canceled or significantly delayed for any reason, you are legally entitled to a full refund if you choose not to take an alternative flight on that airline.