OHIO — The ongoing government shutdown is forcing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to take drastic action.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, the FAA announced a reduction in air traffic at airports across the country starting tomorrow.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Federal judge orders Trump administration to fully fund SNAP benefits in November
- 1 person dies in multi-vehicle crash involving Amazon semi on I-75 NB; lanes reopen
- 5-year-old critically injured after dog attack in Greene County
This will lead to delays and cancellations nationwide.
“I fly weekly, bi-weekly,” Salt Lake City resident Tina Nelson said.
Nelson was leaving Dayton on Thursday after a business trip. But her travel plans hit a snag before her first flight home.
“... to Atlanta. And that flight’s delayed already, but they’re saying it’s mechanical, I don’t know,” Nelson said.
After working without pay for more than a month, air traffic control sick calls have surged.
The staffing crunch prompted the announcement.
“Well, I was involved in several shutdowns in my career,” Colin Scoggins said.
Scoggins was an air traffic controller for 34 years before he retired.
News Center 7’s John Bedell talked to him Thursday about the FAA ordering a 10% reduction of flights at the country’s 40 busiest airports.
“You know, that’s a pretty big reduction. Like even on the worst day of delays, we’ve never reached 10%,” Scoggins said. “It’s an impact all over, it’s an impact to everybody.”
Bedell also talked to flyers about bracing for the impact.
“It’s definitely going to affect a lot of people. So I don’t know, man,” Tulsa resident Caleb Kwizera said.
They hope the shutdown and the air traffic reductions end soon.
“But I don’t have much faith in them resolving it too quickly, so I think this is going to be a while, and I hope it gets resolved before Thanksgiving time,” Huber Heights resident Susan Williams said.
“This is going to affect my work schedule a lot. I’m scheduled to go again on November 17th, and so I am really hoping that they get this resolved,” Nelson added.
Dayton International Airport is not one of the 40 busiest in the country, but we could see impacts.
This change won’t impact flights from Dayton directly, but it will impact several airports that people fly to from Dayton.
Some include Chicago, Atlanta, Charlotte, and all three airports in the New York area.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
