The federal government shutdown has entered its second week, and already shortages of air traffic controllers have strained operations and disrupted flights at some U.S.airports.Reagan National Airport became the latest this week to report delays because of staffing issues on Wednesday.
But earlier in the week there were also problems at airports in Chicago, Newark, Denver and Nashville, and the tower even had to shut down for several hours in Burbank, California.Experts, as well as union leaders representing air traffic controllers and security screeners, warn that the impact could grow significantly worse if the shutdown continues and employees start to miss paychecks.Here is what to know about your rights as a passenger and what you can do if delays and cancellations start piling up:It is better to be stuck at home or in a hotel than to be stranded in an airport terminal, so use the airline’s app or flight websites to make sure that your flight is still on before heading to the airport.
This FAA site can be checked to see if there are widespread delays at your airport.Kyle Potter, executive editor of Thrifty Traveler, suggests also closely monitoring the news if you have upcoming travel plans.“A deal, in theory, could come through Congress any day now, and that could put all of this doubt lingering over air travel to an end pretty quickly,” Potter said.If you are already at the airport, it is time to find another flight.
Get in line to speak to a customer service representative, and call or go online to connect to the airline’s reservations staff.It also helps to reach out on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, because airlines might respond quickly there.Airlines will rebook you on a later flight for no additional charge.
The good news right now is that this is not a peak travel time, so travelers stand a better chance of finding seats.But the busy holiday season is right around the corner, and at those peak times, passengers might have to wait d...