Airports in Bloomington and Peoria say there will be impacts to their facilities from a federally-ordered reduction in airline flights at key airports around the country.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a 10% cut in flights at 40 high-volume airports phased in over several days, starting Friday. That's based on data suggesting fatigue among air traffic controllers and potential safety issues driven by the government shutdown.
“We anticipate some effects, we just do not know what they will be yet. We fly nonstop to some of those affected hub airports: O’Hare, Dallas-Ft. Worth, and Atlanta. Currently, our flight schedules have not been affected,” said Melissa Beaver, Central Illinois Regional Airport spokesperson.
Gen. Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport director Gene Olson said he knows there will be local impacts, but it’s still unclear what they will be.
“It may not be your flight from Peoria to the hub, but it may be your connecting flight going from the hub onto your final destination,” said Olson. “At this point, we have no insight into how the airlines are making those reductions.”
Olson said he doesn’t know if a cancellation happens at this point whether it's because of the federal order, a mechanical issue, or something else. Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights on Friday.
“I don't know that the airlines have even quite figured out how they're going to make all those reductions,” said Olson. “We're kind of stuck without information.”
Flights from Peoria go to airports among the country’s top seven busiest — Chicago O’Hare, Denver, Dallas and Charlotte. Additionally, Allegiant Airlines flights to Florida destinations Punta Gorda and St. Petersburg are part of the approach control areas for Fort Myers and Tampa, respectively, and both are overseen by the Jacksonville control center.
“If any of those larger facilities have staffing issues, that could affect their operations,” said Olson.
CIRA has flights to the affected hubs of O’Hare, Atlanta, and Dallas-Ft. Worth. And airports near hubs that could match Olsen’s concern, Tampa-St. Pete’s and Orlando-Sanford.
The FAA listed Chicago-Midway as another busy airport that has flight reductions; it, too, is used by many central Illinois travelers.
The Peoria and Bloomington airports fly to affected hubs that handled more than 161 million passengers last year, according to FAA numbers.
Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle wrote on Instagram if passengers have time critical appointments in coming days, they should consider buying a refundable or changeable backup ticket on a different carrier.
“Carriers like Frontier will be putting you on the next available flight, but that may not be until after your event due to the scale of this disruption,” said Biffle.
Central Illinois security and safety
Both Peoria and Bloomington aviation officials noted Transportation Security Administration and Air Traffic Control remain robust.
“Our TSA officers continue to report to work in spite of not receiving a paycheck. We are all hoping for a resolution soon,” said CIRA’s Melissa Beaver.
Olson said he had noted no major staffing shortages or attendance issues.
“I have to say this for both of those federal agencies, these people are real troopers,” he said. “They're showing up for work, not getting paid, and that's difficult. I mean, you'd expect that to have an impact on morale.
“I'm not in the same building as the controllers, but I see the TSA screeners when I walk through the halls and they're holding up. They're cheerful, they say ‘hi’ and they give you a wave. It's really inspiring to see these guys come to work with the adversity that they're facing.”
Olson said he’s hopeful the government shutdown and related FAA flight reduction order doesn’t continue to drag into the holiday travel season.
“I wish Congress would get back together and come up with either a continuing resolution or a full appropriation bill, and finish this silliness,” he said.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted on the right-wing Breitbart Media outlet the government might increase flight reductions to 15-20% if the shutdown is not resolved by the Thanksgiving travel period.
