MISSOULA — As the partisan bickering continues in Washington, D.C., airports in Montana are bracing for a likely disruption in traffic resulting from the shutdown and the FAA's planned cutback on flights.
It's just the latest impact of the standoff in the nation's capital, where lawmakers continue to get paid, but federal workers — including those with the Transportation Security Administration and air traffic controllers — went another pay period with checks reading zero on the dollar line.
Travelers will also feel the impact.
“It is unknown if the projected cancellations will affect flights out of MSO,” Missoula Montana Airport Director Brian Ellestad told the Missoula Current on Thursday. “We're entering into a lot of unknowns at the moment.”
The FAA on Thursday said it plans to reduce roughly 10% of flights from 40 airports across the country, accounting for around 3,300 cancellations.
While no airports in Montana are on the list, most provide nonstop connections to the impacted airports. In Missoula, that includes Portland, Salt Lake City, Denver, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Seattle, among others.
Airlines, including United, Delta and American, are cutting flights ahead of the federal reduction in air traffic. Already, travel customers are racing to make plans or cancel travel.
“What we have been telling our customers is that if they are affected, they will be contacted directly by the airline for rebooking options,” Ellestad said.
A cut in flights or prolonged cancellations may also impact airports' enplanement figures, which help establish funding levels for various facilities.
The Missoula airport has seen year-over-year growth and an increase in monthly travel. But that could change amid the FAA cutbacks, furloughs and unpaid workers in the air travel industry.
“Unsure if it will affect our enplanement numbers, as it depends on how the airline reroutes customers or if the customer decides to cancel a planned trip,” Ellestad said, adding that there are too many unknowns under the current state of affairs to determine the immediate and long-term impacts.
Travelers are encouraged to check on the status of their flight ahead of time.
