Travelers expecting to fly out of Santa Barbara Airport are likely to be affected by the 10 percent reduction in flights ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration to begin on Friday. Flights that connect through any of the 40 major airports will be affected. Those headed to or through Chicago, Nashville, and New York have most been affected by the air traffic controller shortages that have been further exacerbated by the five-week government shutdown, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Reports of delays, at hubs major and minor, have been relayed anecdotally to the Independent since the government shutdown. Ron Meemanage of Santa Barbara Travel, one of the city’s oldest travel agencies, said they hadn’t heard of big delays out of Santa Barbara. “There are some at LAX and a few East Coast airports, particularly in the New York area,” Meemanage said. “Santa Barbara seems to be operating as close to normal as possible, with only occasional delays.”
Among Santa Barbara airport’s 12 destinations, 11 are on the list required to trim flights by 10 percent, said SBA Director Chris Hastert. (That list follows this story.)
“Sacramento is the only destination we serve not on the list,” Hastert said. “However, there could be other operational factors that could impact those flights.” He said the reductions were to be phased in over the following week but start on Friday. Hastert recommended that travelers check frequently with their airline for potential changes.
The air traffic control tower is a separate entity from the airport that is controlled by the FAA. Hastert noted that the FAA has been unable to maintain full staffing due to the shutdown. A scan of the FAA’s website for news of the pending flight reductions reveals a site barren of any update more recent than October 17. The shutdown started on October 1, fueled by the president’s sharp cuts to social programs in favor of a sharp increase to military spending and continued tax relief to the wealthy, and Democrats’ insistence on the restoration of food and health insurance assistance.
“To ensure safety and manage workload, the FAA has had to rely on overtime and personnel reassignments, particularly at the nation’s busiest facilities,” said Hastert. “As a result, the agency has implemented a temporary 10 percent reduction in flight operations to preserve safety and operational efficiency during this period.”
“The men and women who staff our air traffic control towers are on the front lines of keeping our skies safe. Their already demanding jobs became even more stressful last week when they missed their first full paycheck,” said Santa Barbara’s Congressmember Salud Carbajal. He argued that “shutting down parts of our airspace … will only worsen the challenges facing air traffic controllers and other airport workers. With Republicans controlling the House, Senate, and White House, I urge them to work across the aisle to reopen the government and ensure our federal workers are paid.”
Santa Barbara’s airport is served by a handful of carriers: Alaska, American, Delta, Southwest, and United. While Alaska and Southwest have messaged that they are monitoring the FAA’s directives, Delta indicated it would be reducing flights. United and American have said they intend to preserve their international flights and expect to reduce the number of regional flights, according to media reports.
Hastert says it’s too early to know exactly how many flights or passengers will be affected in Santa Barbara: “The 10 percent reduction could have no impact on us locally, or significantly more than 10 percent. As the airlines are currently working on their new schedules, we will hopefully know more soon.”
AIRPORTS AFFECTED BY THE FLIGHT REDUCTIONS
Anchorage International (ANC)
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL)
Boston Logan International (BOS)
Baltimore/Washington International (BWI)
Charlotte Douglas International (CLT)
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG)
Dallas Love (DAL)
Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA)
Denver International (DEN)
Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW)
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW)
Newark Liberty International (EWR)
Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International (FLL)
Honolulu International (HNL)
Houston Hobby (HOU)
Washington Dulles International (IAD)
George Bush Houston Intercontinental (IAH)
Indianapolis International (IND)
New York John F Kennedy International (JFK)
Las Vegas Harry Reid International (LAS)
Los Angeles International (LAX)
New York LaGuardia (LGA)
Orlando International (MCO)
Chicago Midway (MDW)
Memphis International (MEM)
Miami International (MIA)
Minneapolis/St Paul International (MSP)
Oakland International (OAK)
Ontario International (ONT)
Chicago O`Hare International (ORD)
Portland International (PDX)
Philadelphia International (PHL)
Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX)
San Diego International (SAN)
Louisville International (SDF)
Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA)
San Francisco International (SFO)
Salt Lake City International (SLC)
Teterboro (TEB)
Tampa International (TPA)
