The suspension of operations within the United States on Saturday for air travel resulted in more than 1,400 cancelled flights and nearly 6,000 other untimely arrivals/departures. In the 39 days of a federal government shutdown, the air traffic system faced more strains. They initiated the Revision of the Aviation Administration standard rules and ordered a reduction of some flights which amounted to 10% of the total at 40 in the busiest airports. This is due to increased air traffic control staff fatigue and safety concerns. Controllers work in unfilled positions.
The shutdown is the longest in US history, and around 1.4 million federal employees have either been laid off or underemployed for the duration. This impacts a large number of unremunerated air traffic controllers, who are paramount for systematic and secure travel within the Country. Shutdown Effects are emanating within the world of travel and tourism, as flight delays and cancellations are rivalling numbers which are unprecedented in history.
Major disruptions from construction have rippled through airports around the country, including in New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Chicago. There is also a significant reduction in domestic flights. Increased cancellations and delays have left untold millions of passengers untethered and anxious about their arrival. Walsh noted that the FAA is expected to permit scheduled flights within the statutory time. However, the unrelenting chaos has now been extended to airlines’ planned operational frameworks. Scheduled operations have been entirely discarded to allow, from a distance, a wildly unanticipated set of systemic changes to occur, changes that will downstream still further perturb the aircraft fields scattering across the land.
“With Thanksgiving barely a few weeks away and travel behavior now fundamentally altered, there is going to be uncertainty about the level of congestion expected in the holiday period, especially if the ongoing interruption to the US capital is not resolved by Thanksgiving, which is almost certain to be the case,” said Walsh. The holiday will likely remain among the most hectic periods of the year, which is only likely to worsen with the travel moratorium still in place. The sentiment of many uncertain passengers is set to exacerbate travel.
The influence of flight delays and cancellations on American tourism is profound and increasingly serious.
As week seven of the shutdown begins, the tourism of the United States is facing serious troubles due to the rise of flight cancellations and delays. Tourists who had planned for events and vacations to major cities like Orlando, NYC, and even Las Vegas now have to deal with uncertainty on whether they will get to their desired destinations. On top of thousands and thousands of cancelled flights, the situation is only made thing with the fact that most delays ultimately result in missing other connecting flights.
This issue has consequence for many tourists, and especially for foreigners. Due to delays and cancellations of flights on the other side of the world, overseas travelers have had to deal with broken and cancel flights and alternate solutions to get to airports in the US, especially for Los Angeles (LAX) John F. Kennedy (JFK).
Demand for solutions and actions from travel providers
Travel providers demand that, now, authorities work out the standing issues. Ever since the shutdown, and now even more. There are predictions that, if shutdown disruption continues, within a span of a few days, the entire system might crash. More so, it has been suggested that if US lockdowns remain for extended periods, it might not only affect US citizens, but the entire globe. Cancellation and flight delays are not a standalone issue.
Losing control and the American Airline system, coupled with adjunct travel and tourism outfits, have leveled numerous complaints to the government regarding travel stagnation. There are predictions that this chronic state of stagnation can, and will, go well beyond the US border. Lend the more than few million air travelers within been the weekdays of relaxation, and the burden will fall directly the tourism income to the more than visited venues of the US, that the skycity set of buildings in Las Vegas, the warm and welcoming days of Miami, and the sheltered entertainment promised in Orlando. The tourism income will magically vanish in the days of the season of relaxation.
Disruptions to air travel are the easiest to see. However, the ripple effects from the government shutdown are affecting other parts of travel and tourism. Hotels, eateries, and other tourism attractions in major towns like Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. are experiencing low customer counts and revenues due to the postponed or canceled travel plans associated with their destination. These shortfalls are worse during the holiday season in regions with heavy tourism traffic.
Many attractions, theme parks, and other cultural relics which depend on the travel market, could also see bad times in the future. If these travel discrepancies continue in the holiday season, regions with heavy tourist traffic or and depend on tourism like Florida, California, and New York could suffer from low visitor counts and lack of revenue.
What Travellers Can Do
For travelers down the line attempting trips to or from the U.S. border, assimilating to the latest on spliced flight statuses regarding the core flight is important. Travelers should keep tabs on the flight schedule, register on notifications with the airlines, and prepare to sit in the airport for the flight. Furthermore, the passenger should think about the likelihood of the alternate route…especially for the ones with connecting flights or during the busy season. Many airlines now, including American Airlines, are in the middle of the linear rebooking progression but under the current conditions, passengers will have to wait in the queue for some time.
For domestic and international travellers, some of the mistreatment from these air systemic bottlenecks can be removed with rearranged schedule options.
Conclusion: The Shutdown’s Wider Effects on Tourism and Travel
Travelers, business people, and locals continue to face delays, cancellations and uncertainty while trying to navigate air travel in the United States due to the ongoing federal government shutdown. With Thanksgiving and Christmas fast approaching, the government shutdown’s impacts on tourism will multiply further. Therefore, people who are planning to travel should stay alert and adopt more flexible travel plans to deal with the complicated situation and limit the impacts to their travel plans. (https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/disrupted-skies-how-the-u-s-government-shutdown-is-affecting-travel-and-tourism/)
