How to navigate the ‘chaos’ of nationwide flight cuts amid government shutdown

Is your upcoming trip on the no-fly list?

Travelers nationwide could face cancellations and delays galore after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to cut flights at major airports amid the ongoing government shutdown— though it’s not yet clear when the changes will be announced.

Starting Friday, there will be a 10% reduction in all flights at 40 “high-volume” flight hubs due to air traffic control staffing issues, Business Insider reported. The New York area is getting hit particularly hard — Newark Liberty, JFK, LaGuardia and Teterboro are all listed among the airports affected by the cancellations.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who enacted the policy to keep Americans safe in the sky, said that the measure could cause “mass chaos” to erupt on Friday.

“You will see mass flight delays,” the official declared. “You’ll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it because we don’t have air traffic controllers.”

Unfortunately, due to the short notice and complex flight networks, carriers will have to scramble to scale back sky trips while mitigating the fallout from aircraft and crews being left in limbo.

This means that any travelers who are booked on a flight from Friday onward should check with the carrier about its status.

As a service to panicking passengers, we’ve compiled a complete guide to how the major airlines are handling the mass cancellations.

United

United Airlines provided the greatest detail regarding how they’ll be affected by the cuts. In a statement to employees, the airline’s CEO Scott Kirby said that their “long-haul international flying and our hub-to-hub flying will not be impacted.”

Kirby suggested that the cancellation would instead likely impact “regional flying and domestic mainline flights that do not travel between our hubs.”

In accordance, the airline would be offering “app, website and push notifications to communicate to customers directly if their flight changes, and to offer rebooking options.”

In addition, “any customer traveling during this period is eligible for a refund if they do not wish to fly – even if their flight isn’t impacted,” Kirby wrote. “That includes non-refundable tickets and those customers with basic economy tickets.”

Delta

Meanwhile, Delta reps assured passengers in a statement that they’d would “operate the vast majority of our flights as scheduled, including all long-haul international service.”

As for compensation, noted that passengers impacted by the reduction were eligible to “change, cancel or refund their flights, including our basic economy fares, without penalty.”

They encouraged flyers to “check their flight status on delta.com or the Fly Delta app for the latest information.”

American Airlines

American Airlines announced that they were “awaiting additional information from the FAA to determine which flights will be impacted,” but said they expected the vast majority of their customers travel to remain unaffected. They noted that “flights on Thursday, Nov. 6, will operate as planned.”

“As schedule changes are made, we will proactively reach out to customers who are impacted,” wrote AA reps, who encouraged customers to “check their flight status on aa.com or the mobile app.”

Frontier Airlines

Frontier Airlines declared in a Wednesday statement that, despite the reductions, the lion’s share of flights will “operate as planned.”

“Where changes to flight schedules are necessary, we will proactively communicate with impacted customers via email, text, and the Frontier mobile app,” they wrote. “Customers whose flights are canceled or delayed for more than 3 hours (domestic flights) or 6 hours (international flights) are able to rebook or to request a refund here.”

The airline also issued a flexible travel policy for customers traveling between November 6-12 who’d like to change or cancel their travel plans. Per the guidelines, passengers are eligible to have their change or cancellation fees waived, although origin and destination cities “may not be changed.”

“Changes to your itinerary are subject to any difference in fare and options prices,” they added. “If your new itinerary is lower in value than your original itinerary, there will be no residual value available to you once you have made the change.”

Frontier added, “If you cancel your itinerary, you will retain the value of your itinerary as a travel credit.”

The changes can be made on carrier’s app or website.

Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines said they were evaluating how the “planned FAA flight reductions” would affect its schedule, claiming that it’d “communicate directly with customers as soon as possible.”

However, the budget carrier noted that flyers will be alerted via the contact information they shared with the airline at booking.

“You will also see a message on our app and website if you retrieve a trip with a canceled flight,” they assured customers. “In most cases, we will automatically rebook you on another flight. You will receive a follow-up message once you’ve been rebooked.”

Meanwhile, passengers who don’t wish to travel with their new itinerary are eligible for a refund provided they cancel their reservation “at least 10 minutes before the new flight’s scheduled departure time” in line with Southwest’s “no-show policy.”

Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines told WFAA in an email statement that they’d be monitoring the air traffic cuts and “awaiting further guidance.”

“More information will be shared as it becomes available, and we continue to call for an end to the government shutdown,” they said.

JetBlue didn’t immediately respond to the Post’s request for comment.