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Travelers are bracing for possible delays as the FAA announced 10% cuts in flight operations around the country.
San Antonio International Airport and Austin Bergstrom are the only major Texas airports not targeted by the FAA’s reduction in flights.
The flight reductions across the state and the country went into effect Friday.
On Thursday San Antonio International Airport officials said the government shutdown hasn’t caused any operational issues yet.
In a press release, SAT officials said that it would be “possible that travelers may be impacted by reductions in service at other airports.”
The statement went on to say “SAT’s security checkpoints continue to perform extremely well. Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and air traffic control employees continue to perform their essential work, despite not being paid currently. The airport and its partners, such as the San Antonio Food Bank, are working hard to support SAT’s federal employees.”
Travelers in San Antonio on Thursday afternoon reported only a few issues. Miguel Sosa was on his way to Mexico City.
“Yes, coming here from New York, it was an hour and a half delay," he said.
Maria Giangregorio was delayed in St Louis on the way to San Antonio.
“We were sitting on the tarmac to try to back out because it was like a little backup on the runway, so we sat there like 25 minutes,” she said while waiting for her ground transportation.
Charles Ndifon said his flight on Thursday flight was smooth and without delay, but he expects things to get worse.
“You know, we have to be flexible with the situation happening in the country," he told TPR. "You have to be flexible, so what we do is we'd rather go there a day before the meeting starts and then we prepare for the meeting."
Experts have said airport delays could increase exponentially as the holiday season approaches and the government shutdown continues.
