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

By CBS Bay Area

Air travelers at airports in Oakland and San Francisco were experiencing cancellations and delays Friday because of staffing shortages from the federal government shutdown, authorities said.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday morning ordered a ground stop on all flights to San Francisco International Airport within 1,000 nautical miles, before resuming the flights later in the morning with major delays. Airport spokesman Doug Yakel said the morning delays were averaging 35 minutes and were not affecting transcontinental flights or international flights to SFO.

The delays came on the same day FAA-mandated flight reductions began at major airports across the country for safety reasons because of a lack of air traffic controllers.

A spokesperson for Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport said the airport had seen multiple canceled arrivals and departures on Friday, although it didn’t experience the kind of widespread disruption seen at other major airports. Airlines have begun to reduce the number of flights to comply with the FAA’s target of a 10% reduction in flights.

OAK spokesperson Kaley Skantz said as of Friday afternoon, there were nine canceled flights and about 18 flights delayed by 30 minutes or more. Many travelers arriving at OAK remained upbeat, although some described the process of getting here as frustrating. 

“We checked in for our flights 24 hours prior. Within 30 minutes, they said that they were canceled and that they would rebook us,” said traveler Julia Verga. “But ultimately, we just rebooked ourselves, hopped onto another flight. And it seems most of those flights were getting canceled out of San Diego.”

“We have a friend who’s flying here from LA, their flight got canceled. A friend from Portland, their flight got canceled,” said traveler Jack Osborne. “Everyone’s eventually making it, but it’s been a mission. We probably have 10 different people coming and almost everyone has had a flight get canceled.”

Mineta San Jose International Airport, which was not on the list of airports facing flight cutbacks, did not report any cancellations.

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.”.

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.