Some Santa Barbara Airport flights have been delayed or canceled due to airspace restrictions implemented by the Federal Aviation Administration as part of the government shutdown.
According to the FAA, affected airports started with a 4% reduction of flights beginning on Friday and will ramp up to a full 10% reduction by Tuesday.
Airlines have posted messages on their websites warning passengers of the cancellations and delays.
“Your flight is canceled due to FAA-mandated airspace restrictions during the government shutdown. Your safety is our priority and we know the change of plan is inconvenient. We’re working hard to get you to your destination as soon as possible,” read a message from United Airlines on a recently canceled trip to Los Angeles.
Santa Barbara is not on the list of 40 affected airports, but flights flying into and out of SBA will likely be affected. Airports on the flight reductions list include Los Angeles, Denver and Portland, which are SBA flight destinations.
“Most of our destinations are on the list,” said John Feldhans, airport property manager for SBA. “But we don’t know how it will affect Santa Barbara yet,” he said Friday.
Feldhans could not personally confirm if the flights canceled Friday were due to the shutdown, or say how many flights were affected.
He says SBA is waiting for more information, but advises passengers to check the status of their flight beforehand.
“If they have a flight, they should go on to their airline’s website and check their flights pretty regularly,” Feldhans said. “Just make sure that they’re still flying.”
He added that airlines are trying to keep their customers informed and will update them as the situation changes.
The FAA’s full list of airports forced to cut service includes:
ANC – Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport
ATL – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
BOS – Boston Logan International Airport
BWI – Baltimore/Washington International Airport
CLT – Charlotte Douglas International Airport
CVG – Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
DAL – Dallas Love Field
DCA – Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
DEN – Denver International Airport
DFW – Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
DTW – Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
EWR – Newark Liberty International Airport
FLL – Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport
HNL – Honolulu International Airport
HOU – William P. Hobby Airport
IAD – Washington Dulles International Airport
IAH – George Bush Houston Intercontinental Airport
IND – Indianapolis International Airport
JFK – New York John F. Kennedy International Airport
LAS – Las Vegas McCarran International Airport
LAX – Los Angeles International Airport
LGA – New York LaGuardia Airport
MCO – Orlando International Airport
MDW – Chicago Midway International Airport
MEM – Memphis International Airport
MIA – Miami International Airport
MSP – Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport
OAK – Oakland International Airport
ONT – Ontario International Airport
ORD – Chicago O’Hare International Airport
PDX – Portland International Airport
PHL – Philadelphia International Airport
PHX – Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
SAN – San Diego International Airport
SDF – Louisville International Airport
SEA – Seattle–Tacoma International Airport
SFO – San Francisco International Airport
SLC – Salt Lake City International Airport
TEB – Teterboro Airport
TPA – Tampa International Airport