U.S. flight cuts may cause holiday travel chaos for Canadians

“The impact on Canadians will be that their trans-border flights that are originating in Canada or coming out of U.S. airports will have some delays,” John Gradek, a faculty lecturer in the aviation management program at McGill University, told CTV’s Your Morning on Friday.

 “I’m not sure how many cancellations we’ll have, that’s still to be negotiated.”

Gradec's comments come after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it would reduce air traffic at 40 "high-traffic" US airports to maintain safety standards, as air traffic controllers are showing signs of pressure during the ongoing US government shutdown.

 He said, "Airlines are considering their schedules and proposing flight reductions as a result of this reduction, so it's still a work in progress. I call it a slow tsunami; it will take some time to build up, but it will definitely impact Canadians."

Gradek pointed out that some Canadian airlines operating in the US fly to all 40 airports affected by the FAA's cuts, including major connecting hubs like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, and Miami.

Gradek said that, above all, these outages are creating uncertainty – something that Canadians are worried about when planning their holiday travel. He said that air travel disruptions are usually limited to specific airlines, giving travelers the option to book with another airline if needed.

“This one is broad. It’s going to affect the whole industry so there really (aren’t many) alternatives if you’re travelling by air,” Gradek said.