‘20% would be earth-shattering’: Proposed FAA cuts to aviation system could be devastating to passengers

With Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatening a cut in airline flights as early as next week if the establishment shutdown continues an aviation expert advised WTOP that would be devastating to the nation s commercial sector Related stories Airline passengers are frustrated and want federal regime shutdown to end FAA reducing air traffic by across high-volume markets during executive shutdown US flight cancellations accelerate as airlines comply with governing body shutdown order Former federal crash investigator Jeff Guzzetti believes aviation remains safe but passengers could be in for big challenges and the airlines set to lose millions if the cutbacks take place Twenty percent would be earth-shattering he reported WTOP about the flight cuts being implemented by the Department of Transportation are necessary to keep the aviation system s margin of safety in place However the cuts are so large they might be substantial enough to get Republicans and Democrats in Congress and President Donald Trump back to the bargaining table If you can think up something to try to bring people to the table to end this shutdown a reduction would be it Guzzetti noted We re talking hundreds of millions of dollars a day lost in air commerce and airline profits He disclosed the magnitude of the cuts that Secretary Duffy is talking about could be devastating to travelers especially as we get closer to the very busy Thanksgiving holiday voyage season He notes controllers have been working for now days as of Sunday without a paycheck and countless are also working six days with mandatory overtime Adding to the predicament Guzzetti noted before the shutdown the air traffic control system was short about controllers because of retirements and the mandatory retirement age Now new controller training is halted because there s no money authorized Plus it takes several years of intense training to get controllers fully certified and nearly of of candidates wash out during the process It started out in a crater and now this shutdown is making that crater even deeper Guzzetti declared With regards to safety I have confidence in the FAA I have confidence in the commercial aviation industry and the redundancies So yes I would not be fearful to fly Duffy and Nick Daniels the head of the air traffic controller s union the National Air Traffic Controllers Association warn that the situation will only get worse the longer the shutdown continues and the financial pressure continues to grow on people who are forced to work without pay FAA employees already missed one paycheck on Oct Their next payday is scheduled for Tuesday Nov Meanwhile the organization that represents business aviation NBAA is urging its members corporate flight departments to avoid the nation s busiest commercial airports and instead fly to secondary airports whenever practicable Flexibility is a hallmark of business aviation NBAA CEO Ed Bolen disclosed That s why we are urging business aviation operators to avoid the busiest commercial arrangement airports We know that departure and arrival times can be adjusted alternate airports can be considered flight crews can utilize airline trip and other backup plans can be put in place to ensure missions are accomplished in a variety of solutions that reduce tension on the system Source