Air travelers have been on a wild ride this fall with flight cancellations and staffing shortages related to the US government shutdown, on top of the annual Thanksgiving crush still to come.
Here’s what we know about air travel over the busy holiday period when millions of Americans will head to airports across the country.
The longest shutdown in US history ended Wednesday night when President Trump signed a bill to reopen the government.
Travel insiders and analysts have said that it could take a week or more for airlines to recover from the recent disruptions.
During the shutdown, some air traffic controllers who were not getting paid did not show up for work. Staffing shortages triggered a Federal Aviation Administration emergency order to reduce flights incrementally.
Those FAA-mandated cuts to flights at 40 major airports will be frozen at 6%, the Department of Transportation said Wednesday night, stopping short of the planned 10% cuts because more air traffic controllers are now showing up at work.
They will remain at that level until the FAA determines it is safe to resume more flights.
“The FAA safety team is encouraged to see our air traffic control staffing surge, and they feel comfortable with pausing the reduction schedule to give us time to review the airspace,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement.
“If the FAA safety team determines the trend lines are moving in the right direction, we’ll put forward a path to resume normal operations.”
Duffy said Tuesday that he expects flight issues to be resolved before Thanksgiving travel ramps up.
Airlines for America, a trade group representing major US airlines, said in a statement late Wednesday that the government reopening would allow airlines to restore operations before Thanksgiving.
But that will take some time.
“Airlines cannot flip a switch and resume normal operations immediately after a vote — there will be residual effects for days,” the group’s president and CEO, Chris Sununu, said in an earlier statement.
Delta Air Lines said in a statement Wednesday that it expects to be “back to full capacity over the next few days.”
Katy Nastro, a travel expert with Going.com, said the recent high level of disruptions is unlikely to carry into the holiday week if the government reopens quickly. That said, the air traffic controller staffing shortages that prompted the FAA to order flight cuts are likely to be a factor even after schedules are restored.
“If we are still down a certain number of controllers … we may see disruptions into Thanksgiving, yet likely not to this extent,” Nastro said.
A longstanding air traffic controller shortage has worsened with the shutdown. DOT Secretary Duffy said that before the shutdown an average of four controllers retired each day. That’s recently jumped to 15 to 20 per day, meaning that “this is going to live on in air travel well beyond the timeframe that this government opens back up,” Duffy told CNN on Sunday.
Passengers arriving at TSA lines at select airports, in Houston and Atlanta, for example, have intermittently experienced long security wait times because of staffing challenges.
No matter what happens in the days to come, travelers should head to the airport for Thanksgiving trips prepared with as many resources as possible for a quick pivot.
Ahead of your travel day, download your airline’s app and enable push notifications about flight changes. Third-party apps such as FlightAware, Flighty and TripIt can also be helpful.
And research flight alternatives, in case your original trip gets disrupted. Travel site Hopper suggests booking with its Disruption Assistance service, which offers rebooking on any airline. Several other booking platforms and airlines offer similar services.
Get to the airport early – at least two hours before domestic flights, but possibly even earlier during the hectic holiday period.
The first flight of the day is a great option, according to Hayley Berg, lead economist at Hopper. “In general, flights departing after 9 a.m. are 2X more likely to be delayed than departures scheduled between 5-8 a.m.,” Berg said in an email.
Right now, flights aren’t usually going out full, so getting on another flight shouldn’t be a problem, said John DiScala, founder of travel site JohnnyJet.com.
“However, if it’s over the holidays, the flights are going out full and you will not be able to get on [another] flight that easy. So you could be stuck. Time is of the essence — you’ve got to hustle.”
Stay on top of your flight status, immediately contact the airline – through the airline app’s chat function, while simultaneously calling the airline, and getting in line for customer service if you’re at the airport. Give yourself as many options as possible to get your situation resolved quickly. “And always be nice,” DiScala added.
See more tips on what to do if your flight is delayed or canceled here.
For travel this week, most US air travelers have been able to change their tickets — even in basic economy class — free of charge, thanks airline waivers for near-term flights affected by the shutdown. Bad weather or staffing issues could trigger waivers during the holiday period, DiScala says. Keep an eye on the weather, which is always a wild card during the holiday season.
DiScala urges travelers making new ticket purchases to avoid basic economy fares in case any future waivers exclude the cheapest tickets.
Use waivers to your advantage, DiScala advises. It’s a free opportunity to tinker with your plans — whether you skip your trip, extend your stay or look for a better itinerary.
Making a solid Plan B is worthwhile if it’s critical that you get to your destination quickly.
That could mean purchasing a back-up ticket for at least a few hours later than your original flight on a different airline, DiScala said, “but that’s only if you absolutely need to be somewhere or you’re really worried about it.”
The easiest way to do that is with loyalty points or miles because you can easily redeposit those if you cancel the back-up flight. If you need to purchase a second ticket, be sure to avoid basic economy so that you can cancel for a travel credit that’s typically good for a year.
Making a car rental reservation can be a smart idea in cases of disruption. Major rental car players Hertz and Avis reported a spike in one-way rental bookings amid the first waves of the recent flight cuts, so jump on that option quickly. Hertz reported a 20% year-over-year increase in one-way bookings over the weekend, noting that many flight cancellations were on shorter, regional routes.
If you’re flying on a regional route, under 500 miles or so, during a period plagued by disruptions “you might want to consider driving because the regional jets are the first to get canceled,” DiScala said.
While it’s no comfort to passengers on canceled flights, those regional cancellations typically affect fewer passengers, aviation consultant Mike Boyd pointed out. His advice last week as flight cuts were being instituted was to “take a breather” and “relax.”
Boyd underlined that the FAA-ordered cuts applied to “flights, not seats, not passengers. Flights,” and noted that reductions in American Airlines flights to Texas destinations such as Waco and Killeen likely affected a total of about 50 people per flight.
Many travel insurance policies apply to “unforeseen events,” according to Chrissy Valdez, senior director of operations at travel insurance comparison site Squaremouth. But once an event like the shutdown is known, it’s often not covered. Check with your insurer on your policy’s fine print.
Cancel For Any Reason and Interruption For Any Reason coverage offer the highest level of protection for travelers shopping for insurance, she said.
The uncertainty of waiting to see how Thanksgiving could unfold isn’t for everyone. Some Americans have preemptively switched to Plan B to save themselves from the stress.
Alexis Miller-Weissman, who lives in Seattle, bought Amtrak tickets last week as a contingency plan for the trip she’s taking with her husband and stepson to see her parents and other relatives in northern Nevada for Thanksgiving.
That was before a deal started to take shape in Congress on Sunday. But after that news emerged, they decided to go ahead with the train journey from Seattle instead of braving the holiday week at SeaTac airport. She received a credit for their Alaska Airlines tickets, Miller-Weissman wrote in a message to CNN.
The train trip is “29+ hours worth of travel … but it’s scenic and calm.”
CNN’s Chris Boyette, Amanda Musa, Alaa Elassar and Chris Isidore contributed to this report.
