Passengers flying home to Atlanta, Georgia got some unexpected honesty about the state of the government from a surprising source. Before the flight took off, a flight attendant took the mic and gave the lowdown on Delta’s current state. The recent government shutdown has affected every sector, including air traffic control. As passengers buckled up, they also tuned in to what their flight attendant had to say about Delta’s future flights.
“Right now, our approach is day-by-day,” the flight attendant says. “The day before, we will cancel the flight as long as the government requires us to.” He goes on to explain that the FAA is requesting a 10% reduction in the top 40 flight markets. “That’s roughly 540 flights a day,” he adds. “If we have to, it’s entirely up to the FAA at this point when and how many flights they tell us to cancel.”
According to the unnamed Delta flight attendant, international flights are receiving priority. Following that, flights to and from major airports—Los Angeles, New York City, Salt Lake City, and so on—will receive second priority. As it stands, travelers will get at most 24 hours’ notice before their flight is canceled. While they’ll be offered a full refund, many are still unhappy with the state of travel.
“These games that this administration is playing are going to be so much more financially devastating in the long run than anybody is realizing,” one viewer on Reddit comments. Another says, “Funny how the GOP can fund ICE and border patrol and give billions to another country, but they can’t fund ATC. Clearly, they don’t give priority to the average person who just wants to travel.”
Another Reddit user commented on private flights, adding, “If the FAA grounded all private jet flights in order to prioritize regular flights, this shutdown would be over in an hour.” To this, one user in the field responded, “Actually, that’s pretty much what they’ve done, believe it or not,” they said. “I work in GA (general aviation). Centers are telling GA aircraft to GTFO of their airspace. Pilots can’t file flight plans. Nobody is answering phone calls. Planes that get airborne aren’t getting flight following, so nobody is calling out their traffic. Pilots are refusing to fly as a result.”
