Flights canceled at Detroit Metro Airport as government shutdown continues: What we know

Flights at Detroit Metro Airport and across the U.S. have been and will continue to be canceled as the federal shutdown begins Oct. 1, with no end in sight.

Here’s what we know as of Friday, November 7.

How will flight cancellations increase?

To relieve some of the stress on air traffic controllers, who have been working without pay for more than a month, the Trump administration (through the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration) has ordered airlines to cancel 4% of domestic flights through 40 major hubs, including Detroit (also known by its 3-letter callsign DTW), starting November 7. If Congress can’t reach an agreement to fund the government by the end of next week, the percentage of canceled flights will rise to 10%.

Officials say cancellations are related to safety

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on November 6 that this was not about politics but about safety, given the strain placed on air traffic controllers across the country and the increasing delays in recent days. “This is not about politics; this is about evaluating the data and reducing building risk in the system while controllers continue to work for free. It is safe to fly today and will continue to be safe next week thanks to the proactive actions we are taking.”

DTW flight cancellations so far

Accordingly FlightAware33 flights are planned out of Detroit Metro Airport, a site that provides comprehensive data on flight status It was canceled on November 7. While it’s unclear whether all of these cancellations were due to the shutdown order, it’s certain that most of them were, given that there were six cancellations on November 6 and four on November 5. This is no surprise since most (8) Delta flights and Detroit is a major hub for this airline; regional flyers Republic, Endeavor Air and SkyWest were canceled six times each.

This could also be a preliminary number: it could grow.

A backlog of cancellations is expected today

The Flighty app (also available on social media platform This situation may get worse day by day.

How do airlines handle cancellations?

All major airlines have made clear that they plan to give passengers as much advance notice of cancellations as possible, offer rebookings, and provide customers with the flexibility to rebook at no charge and the full refund required by the FAA. The best advice for travelers is to check with airlines, check their apps, and monitor your text messages. Patience is almost certainly guaranteed. (Also, the FAA says airlines must refund flight costs for canceled flights, but they don’t have to pay incidental expenses like hotels, meals or other transportation costs.)

What will it take to reopen the federal government?

As for the reasons for the longest federal shutdown in U.S. history, the short version is this: The federal government cannot fully function without a continuing appropriation from Congress that gives it the authority to spend money, and the last one ended on September 30. The U.S. Senate needs 60 votes to pass a new one, and there are 53 Republicans in that chamber. Democrats have so far refused to provide the other votes needed for a simple continuation resolution that would not require any policy changes, saying they want Republicans and President Trump to first address health care premiums that will skyrocket Jan. 1 for people buying policies under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Republicans have so far rejected it. You can read about it here.

Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler.

This article was first published in the Detroit Free Press: DTW flight cancellations appear to be on the rise: What we know