More than 100 Las Vegas flights disrupted as FAA cuts schedules

Airport officials and passengers got their first look Friday at what flight reductions at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports will look like.

Morning operations at Harry Reid International Airport were typical for a Friday, but they’re expected to get worse through next week as more and more flights are canceled.

The Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation leaders said airlines were required to cancel 4 percent of their flights Friday to relieve strain on the air traffic control system and maintain a high level of safety.

But the cancellation level will ramp up to 6 percent on Tuesday, 8 percent on Thursday and 10 percent on Nov. 14, federal officials said.

The Associated Press reported that while the flight reduction order left some passengers making backup plans and reserving rental cars, the flights canceled Friday represented just a small portion of overall flights nationwide.

Passengers still faced more than 1,000 last-minute cancellations and long security lines at the 40 airports across the country targeted by the slowdown including major hubs in Atlanta, Dallas, Denver and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Airlines expect limited disruptions this weekend and stressed that international flights are not expected to be affected.

But if the shutdown persists much longer, and more controllers call out of work after they miss their second paycheck on Tuesday, the number of cancellations could jump from the initial 10 percent reduction of flights to 15 percent or 20 percent, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Fox News on Friday.

Those who showed up before sunrise Friday at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport faced security lines that barely moved, prompting some people to lie down while they waited.

“It was snaking around all different parts of the regular area,” Cara Bergeron said after flying from Houston to Atlanta. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Others were less fortunate.

Karen Soika from Greenwich, Connecticut, found her flight out of Newark, New Jersey, was rebooked for an hour earlier. Then she learned her plane was actually leaving from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, at least an hour away.

Passengers arriving at Reid on Friday said airport operations seemed far better here than at some of the destinations from which they were coming. One passenger said she waited 45 minutes in a Transportation Security Administration security line at Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport, a large station for Southwest Airlines.

As of noon Friday, the longest TSA lines in Las Vegas were 21 minutes, according to real-time projections on the airport’s dynamic signs.

Cancellations and delays

FlightAware, a company that tracks flight delays and cancellations, said there were 41 cancellations and 112 delays at Reid on Friday morning.

A couple that flew into Las Vegas on Friday morning from San Diego said TSA lines there were longer than usual there, but they managed to move fairly quickly.

“I don’t understand what the end game is here,” Michael Hayes, traveling with wife Elizabeth, said after picking up baggage at Reid.

“It just seems to be creating disruption across the board,” he said. “I don’t see how there’s any winning for anybody.”

Hayes said he felt comfortable flying to Las Vegas with no concerns about safety and said if disruptions get worse when it’s time to go home, he knows it’s just a five-hour drive back to San Diego and he can just turn in his rental car there.

The couple said they were grateful to the TSA and air traffic control personnel who are working despite the delay of delivery of their paychecks.

Sheri Hollenback, recently crowned Ms. Nevada United States, was dropping someone off at the airport Friday and only now is starting to understand the details of the federal flight reduction and the government shutdown. She’s scheduled to fly out of Las Vegas next week and has a sister bound for Australia.

“I’m nervous about it just being more congested and just taking longer periods of time,” she said. “I might have to get creative as far as with my timelines or how I’m going to get back, but I’m not too worried about it. It’ll all work out.”

Asked what she’d want to say to congressional leaders if given the opportunity, Hollenback said she’d urge them to listen to the people.

“Talk to the people and hear what they’re actually saying instead of working behind the scenes.”

Newly appointed Clark County Aviation Director James Chrisley was unavailable to speak on his thoughts about the new federal policy.

A technology upgrade at Reid now displays the estimated security checkpoint waiting line in real time.

Line lengths on display

Throughout Friday morning, the wait was usually under 20 minutes. Occasionally, the Precheck line had a longer wait time than the general line.

A Reid spokesman said the airport eventually hopes to have those real-time numbers shown on the airport’s website.

The disruption followed the airport’s inclusion in the Federal Aviation Administration’s list of 40 U.S. “high-volume” airports where flight schedules are being reduced. The reductions are unprecedented and come as the government struggles with a growing number of unpaid air traffic controllers failing to report for work.

The reduction — established as a safety precaution during the U.S. government shutdown — is expected to result in the elimination of more than 150 flights a day in Las Vegas.

Southwest, the busiest commercial air carrier at Reid, had the most disruptions with 24 cancellations and 69 delays, right at the 4 percent level.

Delta Air Lines, Allegiant Air, SkyWest, American Airlines and JetBlue reported three or fewer disruptions in total.

Officials have said that the flight reduction plan is likely to affect mostly domestic flights, rather than international routes. Most U.S. airlines have indicated that they will directly contact customers whose flights are canceled or delayed as a result of the reduction plan. They are required to offer refunds on all canceled flights.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X. Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com. The Associated Press contributed to this story.