A 10 percent cut in flights out of Philadelphia International Airport began Friday and is expected to cause disruptions ahead of a busy holiday travel season, writes Nick Vadala, Brett Sholtis, and Henry Savage for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The reductions are an FAA austerity measure to cope with the federal government shutdown and a growing shortage of air traffic controllers.
The controllers missed their first full paycheck last week since the shutdown started Oct. 1, and some are starting to call out from work.
PHL has about 1,700 badged federal employees, including air traffic controllers, Transportation Security Administration workers, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees.
PHL said it is remaining open, with airspace managed by the FAA. It encouraged passengers to contact their airlines and sign up for text and email alerts for the latest flight information.
American Airlines operates 75 percent of PHL flights and expects to cancel about 220 flights per day, with 6,000 flights still operating daily.
It’s offering a waiver to travelers whose flights are cancelled to either change their flight or request a refund.
“Disrupting customers’ plans is the last thing we want to do,” the airline said.
Read more about the impact of flight cuts at PHL in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
