NORFOLK, Va. — As the FAA mandated flight reductions Friday at airports across the country as the government shutdown continued, travelers were being told to expect impacts at Norfolk International Airport.
“It’s really frustrating at this point," Richard Edmondson said when asked about the flight reductions.
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Edmondson was far from the only one who felt that way.
“Very frustrating," said Barbara Perlewitz.
Despite the potential for delays, travelers News 3 talked with were cautiously optimistic people would be able to get where they need to go.
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“My wife is flying back from a work trip and we suspected that her flight was canceled from Newark to Norfolk. But apparently airlines are making concessions and moving things around that we’re aware of to make sure at least some of these flights keep moving on," Edmondson explained.
In a Facebook post Friday, Norfolk International Airport said the federally-mandated flight reductions will have an impact at the airport and people should check their flight status on their airline’s app before coming to the airport.
“It is not a science, it is an art that we are trying to deploy to keep people safe," U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said about the decision to reduce flights.
Duffy talked with reporters Friday about the flight reductions.
The FAA said they’re necessary to reduce the workload for air traffic controllers, who were becoming exhausted as they worked without pay during the shutdown.
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“We’re trying to prevent the pressure that we now see building in the system," Duffy said.
As of Friday, 40 airports had been told to reduce flights by 10 percent by November 14. Norfolk International was not one of them, but a spokesperson for the airport tells News 3 “The aviation system is interconnected so reductions in hubs will reverberate here and elsewhere.”
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That doesn’t mean, though, people aren’t going to fly.
“I’ve got several trips planned between now and January and I’m going to go whether it’s delayed, they’re canceled, or not," Perlewitz said.
