Parents traveling across the country to attend USC’s family weekend faced delays and flight cancellations as the ongoing government shutdown disrupted air travel nationwide.
Nearly 2,5000 flights across the nation were cancelled over the weekend following the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to decrease air traffic controllers amidst the government shutdown, according to AP News.
Olivia Giangeruso, a junior journalism major, was one of many students whose family’s travel plans were impacted by this federal mandate.
“They flew out from Newark [Liberty International Airport] Thursday morning, and they were delayed about an hour coming to Los Angeles. The pilot told them that there were planes backed up on the tarmac because there was a smaller amount of air traffic controllers that were currently working that day. On the way back home, they were delayed about 45 minutes,” said Giangersuso.
Other students expressed the same concerns, worried about the shutdown potentially affecting their Thanksgiving plans.
“My mom recently visited for parents weekend, and she was really worried about the flight delays. Luckily, she didn’t have any issues. But I don’t know if going forward, it’s going to end up being worse,” said Kaia Sloboda, a sophomore majoring in music industry.
“If anything were to happen, I’d probably just end up staying here,” said Sloboda.
Christopher Apy, a sophomore majoring in public relations and advertising, is planning to go back home for Thanksgiving break, but is concerned about his safety if he does fly on a plane.
“I’ve been hearing stories about air traffic controllers not getting paid and working long hours,” said Apy. “Personally, if I’m getting on a plane, I do not want the people controlling my flight to be sleep-deprived and to be not motivated to work. That’s a very bad thing for me and my safety.”