Although no Montana airports are on the list of 40 locations directly affected by the Federal Aviation Administration’s order to cut flight numbers due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, the regional hubs many passengers fly through traveling to and from Montana, including Denver, Salt Lake, Seattle and Minneapolis, are caught up in the chaos.
The FAA is mandating a 4% reduction in commercial airline flights starting Friday because of “stress in the system,” gradually raising that rate to 10% by Nov. 14 unless Congress approves the funding necessary for the government to reopen. Major airlines are selecting which flights they will cancel between Friday and Sunday to meet the requirement.
MTFP reporters made calls to most of Montana’s major airports Thursday and Friday. Here’s what we heard from them:
- Billings: United Airlines will suspend a round-trip flight from Billings to Denver on Saturday.
- Helena: Delta Airlines canceled a flight from Helena to Salt Lake City on Sunday. It is one of two daily Delta flights to Salt Lake; the airport has five regular daily departures across all airlines.
- Missoula: Delta canceled a round-trip flight to Salt Lake that had been scheduled for Friday. Airport Director Brian Ellestad said he assumes that happened because of the flight reduction.
- Great Falls: No reduction in flights as of Friday.
- Bozeman: No reduction in flights as of Friday.
Bozeman is the state’s busiest airport by deboarding numbers, at 869,028 annually. The next closest is Billings, at 399,251.
While the first leg of a trip out of Montana might not be canceled, the second leg might be. In Missoula, Ellestad said almost all of its 14 year-round and seasonal destinations are hub airports hit by reductions.
Great Falls Airport Director John Faulkner said that airline companies are aiming to reduce flights on routes they have many daily trips already. He added that it can be helpful for flyers to sign up for text alerts to use an airline company’s app to get immediate delay notifications and options for rebooking.
More broadly, Faulkner said that even during delays, there are good chances for rebookings right now. In a few weeks, there may be less capacity to rebook during the busy holiday.
“They’re going to get you rerouted,” Faulkner said. “Leading up to Thanksgiving, this time of year tends to be a quiet time. People aren’t traveling as much in early November.”
Major airlines, including Southwest, United, Delta and American, are issuing refunds to travelers with canceled flights and allowing travelers to move flights in the affected window, even if a specific leg wasn’t canceled.
According to Brian Sprenger, president of Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport, the best thing travelers can do is stay updated on their specific flight.
“I would really equate it to being prepared like you would during a winter storm,” Sprenger said.
Katie Fairbanks and Matt Hudson contributed reporting.
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