TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Friday was the first day of an air traffic cutback to ease the strain on the air traffic control system. Controllers are short-handed because of the Federal Government shutdown, so the FAA is limiting air traffic at 40 of our busiest airports—four percent at first—up to ten percent in a few days.
Tucson International is not on the list of 40 airports where the Federal Aviation Administration is dialing back air traffic. But because of the way air traffic is so intertwined, if something happens at those other airports it can have a spillover effect here.
Tucson International does have direct flights to and from 17 of the 40 airports on that FAA list, so cancellations at those airports can affect traffic here.
But on the first day of the FAA reductions the effect on Tucson International was mild. Anthony Novo had no trouble coming from LAX, one of the airports on that list.
“Since we're coming from Los Angeles, it was either flying or we're actually gonna drive. So if it did, like, get canceled, we're sourced, we're gonna just drive eight hours."
KGUN reporter Craig Smith said: “So you can fall back to that, but not that's not great.”
Anthony: "Yeah, we don't want to drive eight hours. An hour flight’s way better.”
Kristy Ruiz came back to Tucson for the U of A Homecoming. She had a smooth flight but keeps alternate plans in mind in case her trip does get disrupted.
“If I'm traveling by myself, then I might think about, what's another airport that's located close to for driving distance, perhaps for a rental option. I might also think about, where do I have friends and family and resources in the area. If I were traveling with a friend or partner? Then we might divide and conquer, pull out both of our iPads and iPhones and search for alternate options.”
Aimee Kramer and her family were headed to the Tanque Verde Guest Ranch. Their flight was fine but she’s wishing she’d bought some extra trip protection.
”Well, in retrospect, I might have gotten travel insurance for my trip. It was a little too late for that by the time all this was happening, but I think travel insurance would be a good way to kind of get yourself some protection, and maybe consider destinations you could drive to or take a train to if you’re really worried that you’re not going to make it.”
