PEORIA, Ill. – The head of Peoria International Airport says he expects some impacts due to a reduction in flights nationwide.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy ordered flight cuts to begin at the top 40 major airports in the country, starting Friday, due to the government shutdown.
Director of Airports Gene Olson says PIA’s main airline provider, Allegiant Air, flies to mostly smaller airports and may not be as deeply affected. But he says it could be a different story if you have a United and American flight.
“You could see cancellations because of where those flights are going,” Olson said. “If they make O’Hare reduce their flights by 10%, there’s a good chance that some flights from Peoria could be caught in that mix.”
Olson says even if a flight from Peoria to Chicago would be unaffected, a connecting flight following in Chicago to a different location could be.
There was no word on Thursday evening as to which specific flights could be affected, with Olson saying discussions were on during the day as to how to implement the reductions. He believes the flight cuts will be phased in at a rate of 4% to start, with an increase to 10% or higher based on FAA staffing.
Olson says the best thing a passenger can do is to download their specific airline’s app for information on whether a flight is canceled or not. Olson adds there are discussions on-going amongst airlines being more flexible for receiving a refund from an affected canceled flight.
Comments