As an update, been in 3 US airports the last 2 days. Travel easy and on time, if anything airports are less frenetic with slightly fewer people.
Airlines (at least Southwest) are notifying passengers 48 hours in advance that their flights are going and not canceled.
So glad I went ahead with travel. Hope Wednesday goes as well for me getting home.
My son and his family are on the way to Phoenix from Minneapolis on Delta. No issues on their flight.
I flew Friday Phoenix to Everett. Everything went very smoothly. I think that this must really vary by airport. I did see that most airlines are cancelling about 3-4% of their current flight schedule at this time. I think delays are more likely during this time if your flight is operating, so be flexible and leave earlier for any "must arrive by" times such as a cruise, tour, wedding, etc.
The Brief The FAA issued a Ground Delay Program (GDP) for Newark
Liberty International Airport on Sunday morning. The advisory cites
air traffic control staffing shortages as the cause. Average flight
delays reached over two hours, with some waiting more than four. NEW
YORK - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a ground delay
program at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) on Sunday
morning, forcing many inbound flights to wait hours before departure.
On Saturday morning Nov 8, I flew LaGuardia to Detroit on Delta. Flight left on time only to encounter an ATC ground stop while on the taxi way. We were delayed about 1/2 hour. I arrived 3 hours before my flight because I believed the national news about “massive” delays on getting through the airport. From the time I left the hotel in Chelsea, caught my ride on Uber shuttle, went through TSA pre check, the total time was 1 hour. Darn near the length of time it took us to go from LGA to Madison Square Gardens.
My friend flew Southwest back to Charlotte. He had 1 leg (LGA-ORD) canceled. Rerouted through BWI. His BWI-CLT was canceled. He then routed himself through Nashville and rented a car to get back to Charlotte. While my flight was uneventful and delayed my arrival to Detroit by 1/2 hour. His travel took from 2:30pm to roughly 2am. At this time, it appears if your on a flight that is not full, you will be canceled.
Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 55s Transportation Secretary Sean
Duffy warned that US air travel would come to a virtual standstill
during the Thanksgiving holiday season if the government shutdown
persists.
If it was easy, go buy a lottery ticket because you’re living a charmed life
I was delayed five hours and based on everything I saw at the Austin airport that was pretty normal. And yes, my flight was full.
Basically, nothing was going out on schedule and yesterday afternoon
My friend was on Southwest to California. She was only delayed three hours.
The man next to me on the plane was supposed to be going to South Africa and he will be spending two days in Atlanta because he missed his flight out of ATL and he can’t get on another one for two days
If you want to see the impact i suggest this site
Adding Southwest just sent an email confirming my Wednesday flights are not canceled, so good news for me.
Here’s today’s misery index highlighting the uneven impact
https://www.flightaware.com/miserymap/
New York, Chicago, Boston, Miami, Detroit, Atlanta especially affected.
Yesterday, Saturday 11/8, our late morning Alaska flight from Seattle (SEA) to New York (JFK) was delayed by 3.5 hours as were many of the other flights in the C terminal. We got the notification, with what turned out to be a very accurate new departure time, just as the flight should have been boarding.
The general mood in the crowded terminal was calm and resigned. There were very long lines at the gate desks - I would imagine asking about possible missed connections. No issues on our flight, the other passengers were cool and FAs were professional and positive. Getting from JFK to our downtown Brooklyn hotel via Lyft at 11:00 pm was uneventful.
