BOISE, Idaho — Travelers are facing uncertainty after the Federal Aviation Administration announced a 10% reduction in flights for major airports across the country — some of them popular connections for the Boise Airport.
The reductions, which begin Friday, affect 40 major airports nationwide. While Boise is not on that list, its five busiest connecting hubs — Denver, Phoenix, Seattle, Salt Lake City and Minneapolis — will all be impacted.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty in the atmosphere right now and I’m good for today,” said Drew Day, who was flying out of Boise on Thursday — the day before the cuts take effect.
Hear from travelers preparing for delays ahead of the reduction
“I support the transportation secretary’s decision to scale things back in the interest of safety, even if it does cause inconvenience," Day said.
According to flight-tracking site FlightAware, hundreds of flights for Friday are already canceled or delayed.
“No one wants to be stuck at an airport away from home and it’s a domino effect, so a disruption here will affect something there,” Day said.
“I travel Monday through Thursday and I’m hoping it’s not gonna be too crazy,” said frequent business traveler Steve Rosenzweig.
Rosenzweig said he’s concerned about the possible ripple effect.
“Delays are delays, and any delay affects everybody," added Rosenzweig.
“There are people who have life, critical life issues that will be affected, and I feel for them,” said Jennifer Martin, who left for Denver a day early to avoid any delays.
It’s still unclear how large an impact the reductions will have on individual travelers, but airlines are already warning customers about possible delays and offering refunds for flights.
“Their advice to me was if, as a traveler with plans, if I had any uncertainty to maybe stay home,” Day added.
The Boise Airport said it does not expect to be directly impacted by the FAA reductions, but many local travelers are still likely to feel the effects.
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