As a Federal Aviation Administration emergency order to cut flights because of the government shutdown entered its third day on Sunday, travel was further disrupted at O’Hare International Airport, with over 400 flight cancellations and over 1,150 delays as of the early evening.
The cancellations and delays placed O’Hare among the top three airports with the most disruptions on Sunday, alongside Hartsfield-Jackson International in Atlanta and Newark Liberty International in New Jersey, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions. Midway was less affected, with 25 cancellations and over 150 delays.
Besides the flight cuts, travel might be additionally disrupted Monday in Chicago because of a severe weather forecast with several inches of snow and near-whiteout conditions.
“This storm is bad news for travelers and will add even further misery to the current air travel challenges,” said Jonathan Porter, AccuWeather chief meteorologist, in a Sunday news release, noting that an early snowfall in the Chicago area will affect its two major airports.
On Monday, the heaviest band of snow may shift south of O’Hare around 5 a.m. and then south of Midway International Airport around 8 a.m., according to AccuWeather experts.
“This would result in the most impactful disruptions during the morning air travel time, as business (travelers) are trying to get to their destinations,” Porter said.
If the shutdown continues, the number of flight cancellations is expected to climb over the next week. The FAA has said reductions affecting commercial airlines would start at 4% of flights at 40 targeted airports — which includes O’Hare and Midway — before climbing to 10%.
Already on Sunday, cuts at O’Hare represented 12% and 13% of incoming and outgoing flights, respectively.
On Friday, when just over 100 flights were canceled at both of the city’s airports, an employee described O’Hare’s Terminal 2 as a “ghost town.” The number of canceled flights remained similar on Saturday.
United Airlines, for which O’Hare is a main hub, canceled at least 42 flights either scheduled to arrive or depart from Chicago’s largest airport on Sunday, according to the airline’s website.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that even more flight cuts might be needed if more air traffic controllers are off the job. Air traffic controllers have been forced to work without pay since the start of the shutdown, leading many to call in sick and contribute to already existing staff shortages.
Chicago Tribune’s Rebecca Johnson, Talia Soglin and Robert McCoppin, and the Associated Press contributed.