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Air travelers faced delays and cancellations over the weekend after the FAA reduced air traffic at 40 airports nationwide, including Logan Airport, as a result of the government shutdown.
Logan Airport is one of 40 “high-volume” markets where the FAA reduced air traffic beginning on Friday. The FAA reductions started at 4% and will increase to 10% by Nov. 14, according to an Associated Press report.
“As I look two weeks out, as we get closer to Thanksgiving travel, I think what’s going to happen is you’re going to have air travel slow to a trickle as everyone wants to travel to see their families,” said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in the report.
Massport released a statement on Thursday, saying, “We are awaiting more information from the FAA on which flights will be impacted. 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.”
U.S. airlines canceled more than 2,700 flights on Sunday, according to the Associated Press. Here’s what travelers at Logan faced over the weekend: On Friday, Logan saw 241 delays and 43 cancellations, on Saturday 239 delays and 47 cancellations, and on Sunday 440 delays and 107 cancellations, according to flight tracking service FlightAware. As of Monday, there were 142 delays and 61 cancellations by 10:30 a.m.
As a result of the disruptions, airlines announced they are waiving fees and offering refunds.
When we asked readers how the reduced flights have impacted their travel, nearly 200 readers responded to our informal poll and 45% said yes, 18% said no, and 37% said they don’t know yet. Readers shared stories about cancelled and delayed flights, avoiding Logan, and avoiding air travel completely.
“We are literally stuck at the airport right now and unable to fly into Logan,” wrote an anonymous reader.
“Returning from Tel Aviv via Newark, my Newark-Boston flight was cancelled. I was rebooked through Chicago. Good times,” wrote Dan from Bedford.