CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — As the government shutdown drags on, America’s major airports, including Charlotte Douglas International, are bracing for cuts to air travel. Federal officials are looking to cut passenger flights to lighten the load on air traffic controllers who have gone without pay for a month.
“I’m not naive to understand that they’re trying to figure out how they meet their daily obligations. And so because of that, we have seen staffing pressures throughout our airspace, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
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CLT officials said there was no impact to operations on Thursday. However, American Airlines, the airport’s largest carrier, acknowledged that will change come Friday morning when they begin to comply with the FAA’s plan to reduce domestic flights nationwide by 4%. That figure will climb to 10% next week.
It’s left fliers like James Rowson, who was flying to Memphis, anxious…