Flight cancellations ease with end to the shutdown in sight

Flight cancellations decreased across the United States on Wednesday ahead of a House vote on a funding bill that could end the longest federal government shutdown in history.

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives could vote on the bill, which was passed by the Senate earlier this week, at around 19:00. The shutdown has put air travel back on the agenda and increased pressure on air traffic controllers, who are forced to work without receiving regularly scheduled paychecks.

According to aviation data firm Cirium, 811 U.S. departures were canceled on Wednesday; This is the lowest rate since last Thursday, when it was 3.5% of the airline’s tariff.

Trump administration officials on Friday began demanding that airlines shorten their schedules, citing security risks and additional burden on controllers. But the cuts were not enough to prevent further outages, which were exacerbated by widespread staff shortages and bad weather, leading to numerous cancellations and delays last weekend.

Delta Airlines The closure will have a financial impact on the carrier, but it won’t come close to wiping out the airline’s profits, CEO Ed Bastian said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” He warned that he thought another shutdown would occur at some point and said air traffic controllers would need to be paid if that happened.

U.S. airline stocks rose substantially on Wednesday ahead of the House vote.

Air traffic controller staffing increased during the shutdown, which began Oct. 1, leading to thousands of flights being slowed or canceled altogether and disrupting the travel plans of 5 million passengers, according to Airlines for America, an industry group representing the largest U.S. airlines. Some air traffic controllers are forced to work second jobs to make ends meet, controllers union and government officials said.

Transport Secretary Sean Duffy and major airlines warned this week that air travel would not return to normal immediately, even after the lockdown.

“We’ll wait to see the data on our end before we lift travel restrictions, but that depends on controllers getting back to work,” Duffy said at a press conference at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Tuesday. he said.