The Federal Aviation Administration began its 10% reduction in air traffic on Friday. Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport is one of the impacted travel hubs.
The cancellations Friday represented about a 4% reduction in flights. That number is expected to ramp up to the FAA-required 10% — or some 4,400 fights daily — by next Friday, Nov. 14, if the shutdown continues, NPR reports.
The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation has requested a full waiver from the air traffic reduction at all Hawaiʻi airports. If it’s granted, the state says it will pay for the essential staff needed to maintain full flight schedules.
The FAA is reducing flight traffic at 40 airports across the country to take pressure off air traffic controllers who have been working without pay due to the government shutdown.
DOT Director Ed Sniffen sent the letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday, saying the air traffic reduction would particularly harm Hawaiʻi because of its geographic isolation.
Sniffen’s concerns included impacts on medical air transport to Oʻahu, disruptions to cargo and food supplies, and hits to the state’s economy.
“Granting this targeted waiver—conditioned on Hawaii's direct funding of these essential personnel—would maintain full flight schedules, protect public safety, and prevent unnecessary damage to a state that contributes disproportionately to America's strategic interests,” Sniffen wrote.
There are roughly 260 FAA employees in airports in Hawaiʻi. A DOT spokesperson wrote in an email to HPR that the state is not setting a limit on funding for those positions.
A Hawaiian Airlines spokesperson wrote in an email that the airline is canceling four of its 150 neighbor island flights Friday. That includes a round-trip between Honolulu and Maui, and Honolulu and Kona.
