The Federal Aviation Administration has recently moved to scale back 10% of flights across 40 airports across the country.
While none of those airports are within Southwest Virginia, Alexa Briehl - PR, Marketing and Media Manager of Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport - says that three flights had already been cancelled on Friday morning.
“So for these three cancelled flights today, that’s about ten percent of our departing passengers,” Briehl said. “So 90% of passengers are getting to where they need to be, it’s those 10%.”
Those flights were connected to national hubs in Atlanta, Charlotte and Washington Dulles between 10 in the morning and noon.
Briehl says that more cancelled flights are on the horizon for this weekend, but that they’ve been holding on relatively well.
“Looking ahead into this weekend, we’ve seen a cancellation tomorrow on Saturday for Delta and Sunday on Delta to Atlanta,” Briehl said. “Otherwise we’re looking in pretty good shape.”
While the airport is learning and adapting to the announcement in real-time, passengers have been receiving advanced notifications if their flight has been affected.
Meanwhile, Briehl advised passengers looking to travel to have flexibility with their plans and to be prepared to adjust accordingly.
“We recommend staying in close contact with your airline and check your flight status daily, you will more than likely get a notification if your flight is impacted,” Briehl said. “Think about a little more flexibility into your schedule, can you potentially drive there, can you take a different flight.”
While it is unknown how long these cut backs will continue, Briehl advised for people to pack their patience just in case they stretch into the holidays.