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, Fla. — Travelers across the country are feeling the impact of a 10% reduction in air traffic, part of a nationwide slowdown linked to the ongoing government shutdown. That includes the Orlando International Airport, where hundreds of flights have been delayed, and more than 30 canceled on Friday alone.
Officials say the issue isn’t going away anytime soon. According to flight data, 31 flights are already canceled for Saturday and another 28 for Sunday as of Friday evening. “It’s sad when you have plans and all your plans have to change,” said Gabriel Torres, who lives in Apopka. He was supposed to fly home from Mexico for the Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) in Orlando this weekend, but got stuck after his flight was canceled at the last minute.
“There was no reason specified in the email,” Torres said. “All they said was that they were offering a free refund, or I could rebook my flight for free.” Torres is one of thousands of passengers stranded or delayed as ripple effects spread nationwide.
The FAA reports that more than 1,000 flights have been canceled and approximately 4,000 flights have been delayed since the air traffic reduction took effect. “We were supposed to fly out tomorrow, but with all the chaos going on, we decided to get out sooner,” another traveler told Channel 9.
Earlier this week, the FAA announced the 10% air traffic decrease would apply to 40 high-volume airports across the U.S., including Orlando, Atlanta, Los Angeles International (LAX), New York’s JFK and LaGuardia, and Newark.
The disruption comes just as Orlando hosts EDC, a three-day music festival that draws more than 300,000 people to Camping World Stadium. Despite the flight chaos, many festivalgoers said they were determined to make it. “I love everything about it. I love the music. I love the people,” said Dante Bateman. “We’re just here to have fun and let our inner child heal and have fun,” added Kassandra Becerra.
But for Torres, the missed flight isn’t just about missing the festival; it could impact his work. “I really hope this shutdown ends pretty soon because we rely on flights to go and come back from work,” he said. “Sometimes we only have one day in between, so if a flight gets canceled, that can cancel our entire plan for events.”
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Friday that if the shutdown continues, the air traffic reduction could double to 20% next week.
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