Cancellations continue across Bay Area airports weeks before holiday travel season

Bay Area airports continue to see flight cancellations Monday after the Federal Aviation Administration asked airlines to reduce their schedules by up to 10 percent as the federal government shutdown continues.

More than 75 flights have been canceled across five different local airports from Santa Rosa to Monterey as airlines continue to cut flights, many of which are predominantly short-haul regional flights across the West Coast of the United States.

Aviation data website FlightAware reported the following airports have canceled flights on Monday:

• Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport (STS) – 4
• Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport (OAK) – 16
• Monterey Regional Airport (MRY) – 6
• San Francisco International Airport (SFO) – 37
• San Jose International Airport (SJC) – 16

The destinations most affected by canceled flights include Los Angeles (LAX), Portland (PDX), and Seattle (SEA). While flights are canceled at major hubs, smaller Bay Area airports are losing their connectivity to destinations across the country.

Monterey and Santa Rosa regional airports are closer and more convenient for travelers located in more rural parts of the Bay Area. Their limited number of daily flights have seen a decrease since the reduction announcement.

Monterey Airport interim executive director Chris Morello said last week the airport anticipated cancellations to its destinations across the country.

“MRY is not on the list of airports that has to do reductions, but we are impacted since all of our flights originate or depart to the airports required to do reductions,” said Morello.

The longest government shutdown in history has meant federal employees have gone at least a month without receiving a paycheck. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said the financial strain on workers has resulted in some working extra jobs to make ends meet, potentially risking their ability to fully conduct their duties.

“I do not want them to take side jobs, I want them to show up for work,” said Duffy at a press conference last week. “I am not naive to understand that they’re trying to figure how they meet their daily obligations.”

The president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Nick Daniels, remarked in a press release on Oct. 31 that controllers are under extreme scrutiny as they face personal financial and mental health challenges that have been made worse during the government shutdown.

“For this nation’s air traffic controllers, missing just one paycheck can be a significant hardship, as it is for all working Americans. Asking them to go without a full month’s pay or more is simply not sustainable,” said Daniels. “Congress must pass a clean continuing resolution to immediately end the government shutdown, ensure that all individuals who have not been paid during this prolonged closure receive their compensation, and then engage in bipartisan negotiations on other pressing issues facing our nation.”

Over the past few years, AAA’s annual holiday predictions estimated more than 5 million people had traveled by air during the Thanksgiving holiday week. While airlines have yet to announce the cancellations farther than a week out, the future remains uncertain as to how air travel during the upcoming holiday season may be affected.

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