New York airports: Not yet back to normal, as cancellations, delays persist

Delays and cancellations remained in the hundreds at metropolitan area airports on Tuesday even as Congress took the first steps to reopen the weeks-closed government.

At LaGuardia Airport, there were 199 cancellations in the past 24 hours, as of about 5 p.m. Tuesday, with departures averaging 30- to 44-minute delays and 66-minute delays for arrivals, on top of 99-minute delays at the origin due to wind, according to FlightAware.

At Newark Liberty International Airport, there were 108 cancellations, 74 at Kennedy and 1 at MacArthur, though no airport-wide delays were reported. Flight activity was down at all three airports, according to FlightAware.

The airports have been under federal orders to thin the numbers of flights departing and landing due to shortages in working air traffic controllers, according to The Associated Press.

Across the United States, the AP reported, airlines have canceled over 9,000 flights, a result of orders by the Federal Aviation Administration late last week to calm demand on air traffic control.

Even as the government reopens over the coming days, the AP reported, disruptions such as flight cancellations, airport disruptions and the economic toll won’t abate suddenly.

On Monday, the Senate passed legislation to reopen the government, bringing the longest shutdown in U.S. history closer to an end. Still the shutdown could last a few more days as members of the House, which has been on recess since mid-September, return to Washington to vote on the legislation.

On Tuesday alone, at least 1,200 commercial flights were canceled, as the FAA increased its target for flight cancellations — 6% at 40 targeted airports, up from 4%. Still, the AP reported, the number of cancellations by midday Tuesday was less than in previous days. But on Friday, the ordered cuts will rise to 10%.

Among the airports covered by the cuts: Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark, all key hubs for the nation and region.

The FAA hasn’t said when it would start to rescind the limitations that began last week, and President Donald Trump’s transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, said the reductions would not end until staffing levels and safety metrics get better among the air traffic control centers.

Airline schedules could return to normal by Thanksgiving, but it depends on air traffic controllers showing up for work, Duffy told reporters after meeting on Tuesday with air traffic controllers in Wausau, Wisconsin.

Since the shutdown began on Oct. 1, an estimated 5.2 million passengers have been affected by cancellations or delays due to staffing levels, according to the industry trade group Airlines for America. Those troubles didn’t become a big problem, the group says, until the FAA’s reductions took effect.

The FAA suggests visiting nasstatus.faa.gov and double-checking with the carrier before heading to the airport.

"We need controllers back in towers," DOT told Politico on Tuesday, and that's when the FAA would determine "if trend lines are moving in the right direction."