Ongoing Federal Shutdown Keeps Travelers Nervous About Flights
John Palminteri
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Travelers at the Santa Barbara Airport continue to watch the arrival and departure boards very closely, hoping to avoid any delays that would change their plans.
Thousands of passengers daily are coming and going. The government shutdown issues have led to restrictions by the Federal Aviation Administration. Santa Barbara Airport officials have posted the latest information on the airport website to assist travelers.
One passenger, Jim Wacker was already weary Monday morning and said, “I got rebooked. I was already having a raggedy flight arrangement. I got rerouted from Seattle instead of Phoenix and we are going to be rerouted to JFK instead of Newark and my car is at Newark. It is going to be a fun day. I am not arriving until tomorrow morning.”
Saturday alone nationwide, nearly 1500 flights were canceled and more than 5000 were delayed.
A traveler who came in a few days ago was able to get through without delays. Jesse Johnson said, “I came up Friday and I was nervous about it am I going to get canceled? I was going to a workshop. “
Efforts are underway to end the government shutdown, but even if that is announced soon it is unclear if all of the schedules can be restaffed quickly.
Many travelers even at small airports were lucky to avoid a delay.
Kimberly King was here for a half-marathon race over the weekend. “On the day that flew here we were on a flight that was kept on the scheduled but two of the five flights got canceled so we got lucky.” Temperatures were in the 70’s and she said, “I’m sad to go home. I mean I wouldn’t mind a delay !”
One traveler seeing the impacts from the air traffic controllers to the passengers said, “the whole situation is stupid.” Madeline McFeely went on to say, “I’ve been checking for a couple of times then I got a notice from Southwest that I would be leaving on time.”
One passenger ready to go out Tuesday morning found out Monday evening, the plane they would be on was not going to arrive Monday night and they would have to go out later in the week.
Airlines are also in touch with their passengers. Travel experts say non-stop flights are the most reliable during these conditions. Multiple stop flights can lead to possible delays or flight cancellations.
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