CHARLOTTE — Dozens of flights have been canceled at Charlotte Douglas International Airport Friday morning due to a nationwide order from the FAA to reduce flight schedules.
This comes in an effort to relieve air traffic controllers amid the ongoing government shutdown — now the longest in history.
FlightAware reported 41 cancellations in Charlotte on Friday morning, which stayed the same through early afternoon, according to FlightAware.
There were 86 delays by mid-afternoon.
Due to national staffing shortages, the FAA says reductions will start at about 4% and could grow to 10% next week. The agency says cutbacks are necessary to maintain a safe airspace as controllers are working without pay, many for six days a week with mandatory overtime. Delays and cancellations are expected to ramp up.
Airlines say they’re reaching out to customers in advance, but many travelers are still facing uncertainty before their flights.
Channel 9 spoke with travelers at Charlotte Douglas — many hoping their plans won’t be grounded.
“I’ll check ahead probably and just hope for the best. If we have to rent a car and drive back, that sounds terrible, but that’s what we’ll do,” Jeff Aggas said.
Passenger Joyce Bailey is glad she made it into the Queen City from New Orleans so she can celebrate her friend’s 50th birthday.
“I think we can do better things with our time,” Bailey said. “So. let’s just get it rolling. We pay our taxes. We are trying to travel. We are trying to see our family, our friends and we just want some sense of normalcy so let’s get it going.”
Officials say travelers should double-check their flight status before heading to the airport and arrive at least two hours early for domestic flights and three hours early for flights overseas.
This is a developing story. Check back with wsoctv.com for updates.
VIDEO: FAA to cut air traffic by 10% at major airports due to government shutdown
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