Florida feeling the impact of airline cancellations and delays--and the end is not yet in sight

News and views for Floridians and other thoughtful Americans

While the federal government shutdown will soon be a fading image in our rear-view mirrors, the disruption to air travel—including during the busy Thanksgiving holiday—may linger.

And Florida continues to bear a large share of that disruption.

According to the FlightAware website, which tracks airline cancellations and delays, more than 50 flights originating from just four of our state’s airports have been cancelled so far this morning, with a like number of delays.

Orlando International Airport is suffering the most cancellations, while Miami International has the most delays. The other two major airports bearing the brunt of cancellations and delays are in Fort Lauderdale and Tampa. But every airport in the state has been impacted. Key West, for instance, reports that 13 percent of its flights have been cancelled today.

Since Friday, more than 1,200 flights have been cancelled throughout the state, and the number is growing by the hour.

While the impact on Florida’s economy is yet to be assessed, in a state hugely dependent on tourism, it’s clear this is bad news.

And it is likely to continue past the shutdown.

Why?

• Airlines will be required to follow the Federal Aviation Administration’s emergency order to reduce flights until that decision is reversed. And today, for example, the number of cancellations mandated by the FAA increases to 6 percent of all flights, and could ramp up to 10 percent by Friday.

• And that FAA order requires airlines to cut back their flights for a full week before they are scheduled. Meaning if the shutdown ended today, it would still be another seven days before flight schedules were back to normal.

• But it’s not that simple, and CNN reports that aviation consultants say it could take airlines a couple of weeks to fully restore normal scheduling.

• And it is still an open question whether air traffic controllers, who have been calling in sick, will resume work right away. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association says many of its members have taken second jobs during the shutdown since they were not getting paid. They may not be back in full force until they get their delayed paychecks.

As for the government shutdown, on a 60-40 vote, the Senate sent the budget bill to the House last night. Speaker Mike Johnson is recalling members from their nearly two-month paid vacation to finally get back to work.

Since President Donald Trump has endorsed the legislation ending the shutdown, it is expected to have the support of most Republicans in the House, but that’s not an absolutely sure thing, so stay tuned.

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