Starting Friday, LAX and the Ontario International Airport will see an unprecedented 10% reduction in flights because of the federal government shutdown.
The announcement: U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration Bryan Bedford announced the reduction at a news conference Wednesday.
Why now? Duffy said the reduction is a “proactive” measure meant to reduce pressure on the national airspace caused by air traffic controller staffing shortages and associated delays and cancellations. Air traffic controllers have been working without pay since the federal shutdown started Oct. 1.
Read on … for more about the announcement and which other airports in California are affected.
LAX and the Ontario International Airport are among 40 airports in the U.S. that will see an unprecedented 10% reduction in flights because of the federal government shutdown.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said the reduction, which will start Friday, is a “proactive” measure meant to reduce pressure on national airspace caused by air traffic controller staffing shortages and associated delays and cancellations.
“I anticipate there'll be additional disruptions,” Duffy said at a Wednesday news conference. “There'll be frustration. We are working with the airlines. They're going to work with passengers. But in the end, our sole role is to make sure that we keep this airspace as safe as possible.”
Air traffic controllers have been working without compensation since the shutdown began on Oct. 1.
“We decided that a 10% reduction in scheduled capacity would be appropriate to take the pressure off of our controllers,” Bryan Bedford, the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, said at the news conference on Wednesday.
Bedford said people should feel reassured that air travel remains safe.
A total of 40 “high-volume” airports will be affected by the reduction. San Francisco, Oakland and San Diego’s airports are the other ones in California on the list, according to the Associated Press.
From January to September, LAX has seen 55.5 million passengers and handled more than 435,000 landings and take-offs, according to the airport’s monthly statistics.
Staffing shortages at the end of October led to a ground stop for flights at LAX and reportedly caused delays of up to an hour-and-a-half on Nov. 2.
LAX did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday, but earlier referred inquires to the Department of Transportation. Ontario International Airport said in a statement that it is “closely monitoring the situation.”
“We encourage travelers to check their airline’s website and mobile app regularly for the latest updates on flight status and to allow extra time as they travel during the government shutdown,” the statement said.
