By Christopher Reynolds
Some Canadian travellers bound for America will see cancelled flights and delayed itineraries as the U.S. government shutdown puts pressure on the country’s aviation network, prompting regulators to slash plane traffic.
Several Canadian carriers acknowledged a likely ripple effect after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday it would cut 10 per cent of flights at its 40 busiest airports for safety reasons.
In an email, Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said the airline would maintain a “normal schedule” but that passengers connecting to flights run by its partner United Airlines could be affected.
Customers would not be charged a change fee for rebooking or deferring their trip, he said — but the cost of a pricier ticket would still have to be covered by the passenger.
The CEO of United Airlines said Wednesday that long-haul international flying and hub-to-hub routes would not be impacted. Instead, it will cut regional and other domestic flights.
For Porter Airlines, FAA staffing shortages have already caused delays in key markets south of the border.
“For those who have flexibility, complimentary moves to some U.S. destinations are available through Monday, when space permits,” said spokeswoman Robyn van Teunenbroek.
WestJet spokeswoman Julie Brunet said operations were not affected by the shutdown.
Air Canada, WestJet and Porter flew 4,000 flights per week between the U.S. and Canada last month, according to figures from aviation data firm Cirium.
The FAA said Wednesday it would cut flights at major airports from coast to coast — New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Denver and Orlando are among the hubs — starting Friday due to the government shutdown.
The agency said the reduction is necessary to maintain travel safety as air traffic controllers working without pay show signs of strain during the shutdown — the longest ever at 37 days and counting as of Thursday.
A move forcing American airports to scale back operations, airlines to slash capacity and potentially hundreds of thousands of travellers to alter their plans is unlikely to go unnoticed in Canada, said Western University employment relations professor Geraint Harvey.
“This decision is going to affect passengers,” he said.
He also stressed that for carriers, seat bookings are effectively perishable commodities.
“You can’t stockpile flights,” he said.
“When a flight is cancelled for whatever reason, they have to accommodate those passengers on another flight, which means they lose the money for that seat or they have to reimburse the passenger,” he said.
“It’s a real problem for airlines.”
