Flight cancellations at JFK, LaGuardia for some travelers

The number of flight cancellations rose on Saturday at New York airports as travelers braced for escalating disruptions in the upcoming week due to the federal government shutdown.

By mid-afternoon Saturday, the number of cancellations at the metropolitan airports, Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty International, had already surpassed the prior day when the Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation implemented its reduced air travel plan.

The number of cancellations at Kennedy more than doubled to 104, representing about 8% of its departing flights and 7% of its departing flights, as of 9 p.m. Saturday, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware. LaGuardia, meanwhile, saw slightly more cancellations on Saturday with 57 compared to 48 on Friday, according to the site. Newark  had nearly four times as many cancellations Saturday, up to 187, which included 17% of its departing flights and 20% of its arriving flights.

The reduction in air traffic was designed to ease the workload on air traffic controllers who have been working without pay since the shutdown started on Oct. 1, according to federal officials. Nearly 1,900 flights nationwide had been canceled through 9 p.m. Saturday, with nearly 19,000 delayed, according to FlightAware.

The initial reduction started at 4% on Friday and climbs to 6% on Tuesday, 8% on Thursday and 10% by Friday if the shutdown does not end. That number could climb to 15% or 20%, according to The Associated Press.

Travelers at Kennedy on Saturday shared mixed experiences, some facing cancellations and delays while others found a relatively smooth process.

Lucy Njue flew into Kennedy from Kenya on Saturday morning and expected to catch a connecting flight in the afternoon to attend a conference in Tampa Bay.

Then, the cancellation email came. Njue, 47, a geologist from Kenya, said her flight was rescheduled to Sunday afternoon, leaving her without many options.

Njue said she didn't find any nearby hotels that worked for her. She doesn't have any family in the area and expected to be in the terminal overnight.

"I'm so exhausted," she said.

Maninder Singh, 26, of Canada, had an earlier flight canceled and was dealing with a 45-minute delay on Saturday morning for his plane to Atlanta.

He said he was concerned the flight could be further delayed.

"I guess I'll have to deal with it," Singh said.

Others said they expected to battle long lines and red "canceled" messages streaking across the schedule boards in the airport. Instead, they had mostly seamless experiences.

"I saw videos on TikTok ... queues going all around the way," Sham Easu, 35, of Singapore, said while waiting for her Avianca Airlines flight. She avoided, however, the nightmares induced by social media videos chronicling the travel disruptions.

After arriving back home from a business trip in Tokyo, David Koma, 62, said he canceled a planned trip next week to Los Angeles.

"I decided, I don't think I'm going to do that," Koma said while waiting for transportation to his home in Pennsylvania. "I think it's going to be nuts."

At Long Island MacArthur Airport, which was not among the 40 nationwide airports expected to reduce travel, travelers breezed from check-in through security, with many thankful they avoided larger city airports.

One flight originating from Palm Beach International Airport was canceled shortly after 10 a.m. The direct flight had been scheduled to arrive in Ronkonkoma around 2:20 p.m. It was unclear if the Southwest Airlines flight's cancellation was related to the cutback.

Josephine Libero, 28, a nuclear scientist visiting for work at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, said she gave herself extra time, unsure of how potential cutbacks could affect the airport. She was flying to Baltimore/Washington International Airport for a layover before returning home to Las Vegas.

"I was nervous," she said. "But so far so good."