After announcing this week mandated 10 percent capacity cuts at 40 "high-traffic airports" to begin Nov. 7, the U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Federal Aviation Administration outlined a gradual reduction.
A 4 percent reduction was mandated for flights taking effect today, followed by 6 percent by Nov. 11, 8 percent by Nov. 13 and 10 percent by Nov. 14, according to DOT.
In addition, airlines will be required to issue full refunds but will not be required to cover secondary costs, according to DOT, which is "the normal procedure when a delay or cancellation is not at the fault of the carrier."
The order does not require a reduction in international flights, and the agency said carriers can use their discretion to determine which flights to cancel.
Airlines began cancellations on Friday to meet the mandate.
Aviation analytics company Cirium provided data as of 1 p.m. Eastern time Friday for Nov. 7 cancellations: American Airlines had canceled 224 flights, nearly 3.7 percent of those scheduled for Friday. Delta Air Lines had canceled 180 flights, 3.9 percent of those scheduled, and United Airlines had canceled 185 flights, 4 percent of its schedule.
For Nov. 8, America canceled 205 scheduled flights (3.7 percent), Delta canceled 158 (3.9 percent) and United canceled 171 (4.2 percent). As of that time, American had not canceled any flights for Nov. 9, with Delta canceling 175 and United canceling 193.
Air tracking company FlightAware also reports real-time cancellations and delays. As of 4:20 p.m. ET, the company reported 972 cancellations within, into or out of the United States for Nov. 7. The number of flights canceled for Saturday at that time was 804, with 455 canceled for Nov. 9. To compare, the number of cancellations within, into or out of the U.S. for Nov. 6 was 202, and for Nov. 5 was 171.
American on its website updated its travel alerts with a waiver for FAA-affected flights scheduled Nov. 7-14. Changes must be booked by Nov. 14. The carrier listed 21 airports affected by the FAA directive.
Delta expanded its waiver for FAA-impacted travel to for flights between Nov. 7-14. Tickets must be reissued on or before Nov. 21, and new travel must originate on or before that date as well.
United's page with information for affected flights continued to list canceled flights through Nov. 9.
Carriers continued to advise customers to check their websites or mobile apps for the latest updates.
Corporate demand has not yet waivered, KesselRun Consulting VP of program management Krissy Herman told BTN midday Thursday. "I don't think anybody has put a stake in the ground on it yet," she said of companies discouraging nonessential travel. "We're waiting to see how tomorrow and the next few days shake out. We are telling our clients to tell their travelers to pack their patience. The likelihood of delays and long lines are more than normal."
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