Travel

As the government shutdown nears its second month, airports across the country are feeling its impact, with flight delays piling up because of staffing shortages.This weekend had the most difficult travel conditions yet at dozens of American airports, where lines of frustrated travelers appeared endless. More than 5,000 flights traveling from and to U.S. airports were delayed Sunday alone. As the shutdown drags on, more delays and cancellations can be expected, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Air traffic controllers, who are relied on to coordinate aircraft within the airspace and are required to work as essential workers during a government shutdown, have been working without pay. Duffy said he wants them to return to work, adding that those who do not will receive a ...

Travelers booking hotel reservations online may soon notice that the process increasingly mirrors what it’s like to buy airline tickets.Want early check-in or late check-out? More space, a higher floor or a garden view? Pool access or a “hydration station” (aka bottled water) in your room?Check “yes” before you book and the cost will be added to your basic room rate.How about milk and cookies for the kids or a gourmet snack box for your dog? Those bonus amenities can be waiting for you in your room, for an added, prepaid fee.Artificial intelligence and other innovative technologies are turning hotel operators into travel retailers, selling much more than just rooms.Individual properties can now creatively unbundle and repackage their room inventories, allowing guests to personalize thei...

As the government shutdown drags on, so do woes at airports — this time at Orlando International Airport in Florida. A ground delay was issued Thursday evening for Orlando MCO — the state's busiest airport — with departures to the airport delayed an average of 2.7 hours because of staffing issues. The delay is in effect from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. ET, according to a Federal Aviation Administration advisory.Earlier in the evening, the FAA said the airport would be unable to land arriving flights for a period because no certified air traffic controllers were available at the hub. That was later remedied, with the FAA saying there has been an “increase in staffing” for the F11 Central Florida Tracon, which is staffed by controllers. A MCO spokesperson said the ground delay is over staffing issu...

As the government shutdown drags on, federal employees who support the country's airports, such as air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration workers, say they are still in the dark about when they will next be paid. On Tuesday, workers received their first zero-dollar paycheck, reflecting two weeks of unpaid work amid the ongoing government shutdown. During the nearly monthlong shutdown, these individuals, whose roles are deemed essential, have been required to show up for work without the promise of a paycheck at the end of a standard pay period. Their last payout was a partial paycheck that included funds for time worked in September before the shutdown that began Oct. 1. Also Tuesday, controllers took matters into their own hands, pushing back on the work the...

Four days into the government shutdown, Jack Criss, an air traffic control specialist at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, assumed a second role — driving for DoorDash.“My financial obligations were mounting. I wanted to get ahead of the situation. The writing was on the wall,” Criss told NBC News.That financial pressure is only expected to grow Friday, when Criss and other air traffic controllers are set to miss their first biweekly paycheck for work performed during what is now the second-longest shutdown in U.S. history. The expected $0 checks, to be delivered by Oct. 28, follow a check that paid only 90% of their total pay, reflecting work mostly done in September.While back pay has been promised, thanks to a 2018 law that requires compensation for workers who work during a shutdo...

A flight made an emergency landing Monday after its pilots lost a radio link with flight staff, prompting them to bang on the locked cockpit door and raising fears that someone was trying to break in.Flight 6569 set off from Omaha, Nebraska, to Los Angeles at 7:23 p.m. ET but turned around and landed back at Eppley Airfield just 36 minutes later, according to FlightRadar.The American Airlines flight was operated by regional carrier SkyWest. Both did not immediately respond to overnight requests for comment.The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the plane landed safely "after declaring an emergency when the pilot could not contact the cabin crew.""After landing, it was determined there was a problem with the inter-phone system and the flight crew was knocking on the...

WASHINGTON — The government shutdown is entering its 10th day, with both Republicans and Democrats dug in and refusing to give any ground to their political foes.But the coming days and weeks will bring some key pressure points that could potentially end the partisan impasse.Until now, the impacts of the shutdown have been fairly muted, with Smithsonian museums shuttered and some government services interrupted. But Friday, hundreds of thousands of civilian federal workers will get their first paycheck since the shutdown began, reflecting zero pay for October. On Wednesday, service members will see the same.With air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration agents not getting paid, staffing shortages will likely grow worse, exacerbating flight delays and cancellatio...

Flight delays are expected across the country for a third straight day on Wednesday as the Federal Aviation Administration braced for more airport staffing shortages amid the ongoing government shutdown.Within the last 48 hours, delays due to air traffic controller staffing shortages were reported at airports in Boston; Burbank, California; Chicago; Denver; Houston; Las Vegas; Nashville, Tennessee; Newark, New Jersey; Philadelphia; and Phoenix, according to the FAA.This week’s staffing shortages began on Monday, when air traffic controllers started working without pay due to the shutdown. The federal agency said Wednesday morning that it expects staffing triggers at Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the three major airports in the New York City metropolitan area. The trigger ...

WASHINGTON — Federal funding for air travel in rural areas will run out Sunday if the government shutdown continues, threatening to isolate remote communities across the country.The Essential Air Service (EAS), established in 1978, provides funds to airline carriers to operate out of rural airports for routes that would otherwise be unprofitable. The program is a lifeline for remote communities because it connects them to cities with larger airports, ensuring access to medical treatments, work opportunities and commercial goods that would otherwise be a lengthy travel away. “Money runs out this Sunday. So there’s many small communities across the country that will now no longer have the resources to make sure they have air service in their community,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy...

"Now what they think about as they’re controlling our airspace is, ‘How am I going to pay my mortgage? How do I make my car payment? I have a couple kids at home, how do I put food on the table?'" Duffy continued. "'I’m working six days a week, so I have to take a second job and drive Uber when I’m already exhausted from doing a job that’s already stressful, to think about how I can make extra money because the government may not provide me a paycheck?'"Speaking at the same press conference, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association Union President Nick Daniels also called for an end to the shutdown. "We do not have the luxury of time," he said. "We do not have time to waste on the unnecessary distractions created by this shutdown.""Our message is clear: end the shutdown," he add...