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The U.S. Department of Transportation’s plan to cut air traffic by 10% starting Friday appears to be affecting planned flights out of Portland International Airport.
The airport’s website shows that six departing flights are canceled for the 24-hour period beginning at 3 am, compared with no cancellations today and one yesterday. Six arrivals are cancelled tomorrow, compared with none today and three yesterday.
Three of tomorrow’s cancelled departing flights are on Alaska Airlines, and one each are on Southwest, United and Delta. The breakdown is the same for arrivals.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said yesterday that he planned to slash flights by 10% at 40 major airports to take pressure off air traffic controllers, who have been working without pay since the U.S. government shut down on Oct. 1.
The government will remain shuttered until Democrats and Republicans resolve a fight over health benefits that has stalled passage of a budget needed to fund federal operations. The shutdown is the longest in history, at 37 days.
Thought Duffy has been vocal about his plans in the press, the Federal Aviation Administration has yet to contact the Port of Portland, which runs the airport.
“The Port of Portland is aware of the FAA’s publicly stated intention to reduce air traffic but has not received any direct notification from the FAA,” port spokeswoman Molly Prescott said in an email to WW. “The Port is monitoring the situation closely and remains focused on keeping daily operations at PDX running smoothly, including if our airline partners make changes to their flight schedules.”
Duffy, a former professional lumberjack and reality-show star who served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, has accused Democrats of bringing on a “senseless shutdown,” according to The New York Times. On Tuesday, Duffy predicted “mass chaos” in air travel if the government didn’t reopen, the Times said.
