NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Federal Aviation Administration is ordering airlines to cut thousands of flights nationwide, as cities deal with a severe shortage of air traffic controllers during the government shutdown.
While BNA is not on the list of airports taking a hit, passengers flying in from any of the major hubs affected — like Charlotte, Atlanta or JFK — might be in for a rude awakening.
"It's impacting livelihoods, it's impacting travel everywhere," said a comedian, Katie Hewko-Dykes, flying in to perform at an improv comedy festival.
She made it in time, but she hopes the rest of the performers avoid delays and, in turn, avoid ruining the show.
"We're lucky that we planned ahead, but this has been impacting a handful of people, and I'm concerned about other people that are flying in for the festival," she said.
Others may have already felt the effects of the FAA's decision.
"I was irritated, I was ready to be here, ready to party, have fun," said Tiffani West, flying in from Philadelphia. "The flight was late. It was like 40 minutes delayed."
Airline cut at least 4% of Friday's flights and are ramping up to 10% next week, which could impact around 4,000 flights daily.
"Yeah, it's stressful traveling before this, so this makes it even more stressful," said another local flyer, Chad Dannenfelser. "I just hope they get it fixed and let people get paid for the work they're doing, and the government can come together to work this out."
"Especially with a holiday on our heels," Deb Grace from Dallas chimed in. "It's really gonna impact a lot of people that were planning on their flights and traveling, and I just feel bad for those folks."
Storms also caused a ground stop at BNA, which was in effect Friday evening until just before 6 p.m. and affected people's flight times as well.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at nikki.hauser@newschannel5.com.
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