Logan airport has largely avoided the worst of the federal government shutdown, even as other major hubs have experienced widespread delays and cancellations due to staffing shortages. But that’s expected to change on Friday, when a federally imposed reduction in flights could leave thousands of travelers stranded in Boston.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced Thursday that it would cut 10% of air traffic at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports starting November 7 in an effort to “alleviate the pressure” on air traffic controllers, who have been working without pay since the start of the shutdown on September 30.
Massport, the state agency that oversees operations at Boston’s airport, confirmed on Thursday morning that Logan has been named as one of the airports that will experience a reduction in flights.
“We are awaiting more information from the FAA on which flights will be impacted,” Massport spokesman Benjamin Crawley said in a statement. “For those traveling over the next few days, we do anticipate delays and cancellations and strongly urge passengers to check with their airline before coming to the airport.”
While the final number of flights that will be cancelled at Logan haven’t yet been announced, aviation analysts are warning that the air traffic reduction could affect thousands of travelers.
According to data provided to GBH News by the aviation analytics firm Cirium, there are roughly 500 flights scheduled to depart Logan on Friday, carrying some 62,000 passengers. A 10% cut could result in dozens of cancellations, leaving as many as 6,200 passengers stranded in Boston.
Those numbers do not include the hundreds of incoming flights scheduled to arrive in Boston — many of them from other major hubs — making the likely impact of the flight cuts far more significant.
Cirium said that it expects most of the cancellations to affect regional flights, while longer domestic flights and international travel will remain largely unaffected.
Air traffic controllers have already gone one paycheck cycle without pay during the shutdown.
If it continues, they will see another pay date with no compensation on November 11, according to Kevin Curtiss, a Massachusetts-based air traffic controller and New England Regional Vice President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
“You’re talking about going over a month without pay,” Curtiss told GBH News. “Most people are already living paycheck to paycheck. And they have no idea when they’re going to get paid again next, so it’s an incredibly stressful time.”
Curtis said that even before the shutdown began, air traffic control facilities in New England and across the country were severely understaffed, with many controllers working six days a week and overtime hours to pick up the slack. Working without pay, he said, is further straining an already overwhelmed workforce.
While the FAA’s reduction in flights is intended to ease the pressure on air traffic controllers, Curtis said he’s unsure whether the move will have any practical effect.
“We’re in uncharted territory,” he said. “I have no idea if that decision is going to help or not.”
Curtis added that he and other air traffic controllers across the region desperately need the shutdown, now the longest in U.S. history, to come to an end. With the high cost of living in New England, he argued, the financial crunch is even more intense for federal workers in the area.
“There’s a significant amount who were living paycheck to paycheck before the shutdown,” he said. “They need to reopen the government. The government shutdown needs to end.”
