Flight schedules are being reduce at Orlando Worldwide Airport (MCO) by 10% beginning subsequent week as vacation journey will increase. Even this weekend, Delays and cancellations are already on the rise as an FAA Emergency Order ramps up. This put up covers what’s occurring, what to anticipate as the federal government warns of journey slowing to a “trickle” by Thanksgiving, and learn how to mitigate your threat if in case you have an upcoming Walt Disney World journey this vacation season.
This FAA Emergency Order comes after vital delays and cancellations about one week in the past at MCO, when staffing shortages briefly halted operations. Resulting from no licensed air site visitors controllers obtainable in a single day, MCO was underneath a floor delay program from 10 p.m. via 3 a.m. one night.
At the moment, the FAA warned of worsening disruptions whereas staff go with out pay because of the federal government shutdown. The federal authorities entered a shutdown at midnight on October 1st when lawmakers did not cross new funding payments. It’s unclear how lengthy the stalemate will final, however lawmakers don’t seem like any nearer to coming to an settlement that might reopen the federal government.
The federal authorities shutdown means air site visitors controllers, Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) brokers, and different federal airport workers are working with out pay. In flip, this will increase the chance of workers calling in sick and leaving MCO and different airports understaffed. Final weekend, there have been 2,740 delays at varied airports across the US.
As a part of the flight discount order, U.S. Division of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration outlined the proactive actions the FAA would take to take care of the best requirements of security within the nationwide airspace system. This contains attaining a brief 10 p.c discount in flights at 40 excessive site visitors airports throughout the nation.
For the reason that starting of the shutdown, controllers have been working with out pay, and staffing triggers at air site visitors amenities throughout the nation have been rising. This has resulted in elevated reviews of pressure on the system from each pilots and air site visitors controllers.
“My division has many obligations, however our primary job is security. This isn’t about politics – it’s about assessing the information and assuaging constructing threat within the system as controllers proceed to work with out pay,” mentioned U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. “It’s protected to fly in the present day, and it’ll proceed to be protected to fly subsequent week due to the proactive actions we’re taking.”
“We’re seeing indicators of stress within the system, so we’re proactively decreasing the variety of flights to ensure the American individuals proceed to fly safely,” mentioned Federal Aviation Administrator Bryan Bedford. “The FAA will proceed to carefully monitor operations, and we won’t hesitate to take additional motion to ensure air journey stays protected.”
The Higher Orlando Aviation Authority additionally issued a press release on the Emergency Order:
That is anticipated to end in fewer arrivals and departures at MCO, which ought to sluggish the speed of exercise within the Nationwide Airspace System and help airports which can be experiencing staffing challenges. In the end, this order maintains the best stage of security.
Up to now, Orlando Worldwide Airport has been lucky that federal airport workers have continued to work and there was minimal impression on airport operations. We deeply recognize our federal companions for his or her dedication.
The discount in flights is prone to impression passengers, sadly, and we ask that they examine straight with their airways relating to delays and cancellations.
The airport is absolutely staffed to help as a lot as doable throughout this time.
Because of the FAA Emergency Order, 4% site visitors reductions at 40 high-traffic airports are already in impact. These ramp as much as 6% by Tuesday, November 11, then 8% by November 13, and the complete 10% p.c by November 14, 2025.
Along with flight reductions, the FAA will even:
- Prohibit some visible flight rule approaches (VFR) at amenities with staffing triggers
- Business area launches and reentries will solely be permitted between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. native time.
- Prohibit parachute operations and picture missions close to amenities with a staffing set off.
These actions have been straight knowledgeable by the FAA’s evaluate of aviation security knowledge, together with voluntary, confidential security reviews that pilots and air site visitors controllers file. The information signifies elevated stress on the system, which will increase threat.
Airways might be required to difficulty full refunds. They won’t be required to cowl secondary prices. That is the conventional process when a delay or cancellation just isn’t on the fault of the provider.
The order doesn’t require a discount in worldwide flights. Carriers might use their very own discretion to resolve which flights are canceled to achieve the order’s aim. Selections to extend or lower these flight reductions might be knowledgeable by security knowledge.
Which means that the ten% cancellation goal may improve to twenty% if there are nonetheless perceived security dangers within the knowledge, or lower to five% on that very same foundation. Our purely speculative guess is that the reductions will improve, not lower, till the federal government shutdown is resolved. It’s not as if air site visitors controllers are abruptly going to start out displaying as much as work in greater numbers after going with out paychecks for extra time. This solely will get worse till the underlying downside is fastened.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy kind of confirmed this on one of many Sunday reveals. He warned that journey might be “lowered to a trickle” within the two weeks forward of Thanksgiving, stating {that a} “substantial” variety of People won’t be able to spend the vacation with their households if the federal government shutdown drags deeper into November.
Duffy acknowledged that 18 of twenty-two controllers in Atlanta didn’t present as much as work on Saturday and that there have been 81 staffing triggers nationwide. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Worldwide Airport is the world’s busiest.
He added that retirements have spiked: “I used to have about 4 controllers retire a day earlier than the shutdown. I’m now as much as 15 to twenty a day.” Because of these retirements and no-shows, an elevated variety of delay triggers are already being hit. This additionally implies that the get better may not be like flipping a swap when the federal government lastly does reopen.
The 40 affected excessive impression airports embrace:
ANC – Ted Stevens Anchorage Worldwide Airport
ATL – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Worldwide Airport
BOS – Boston Logan Worldwide Airport
BWI – Baltimore/Washington Worldwide Airport
CLT – Charlotte Douglas Worldwide Airport
CVG – Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Worldwide Airport
DAL – Dallas Love Discipline
DCA – Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport
DEN – Denver Worldwide Airport
DFW – Dallas/Fort Price Worldwide Airport
DTW – Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
EWR – Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport
FLL – Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Worldwide Airport
HNL – Honolulu Worldwide Airport
HOU – William P. Interest Airport
IAD – Washington Dulles Worldwide Airport
IAH – George Bush Houston Intercontinental Airport
IND – Indianapolis Worldwide Airport
JFK – New York John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport
LAS – Las Vegas McCarran Worldwide Airport
LAX – Los Angeles Worldwide Airport
LGA – New York LaGuardia Airport
MCO – Orlando Worldwide Airport
MDW – Chicago Halfway Worldwide Airport
MEM – Memphis Worldwide Airport
MIA – Miami Worldwide Airport
MSP – Minneapolis–St. Paul Worldwide Airport
OAK – Oakland Worldwide Airport
ONT – Ontario Worldwide Airport
ORD – Chicago O’Hare Worldwide Airport
PDX – Portland Worldwide Airport
PHL – Philadelphia Worldwide Airport
PHX – Phoenix Sky Harbor Worldwide Airport
SAN – San Diego Worldwide Airport
SDF – Louisville Worldwide Airport
SEA – Seattle–Tacoma Worldwide Airport
SFO – San Francisco Worldwide Airport
SLC – Salt Lake Metropolis Worldwide Airport
TEB – Teterboro Airport
TPA – Tampa Worldwide Airport
As you possibly can see, there are a number of airports on this record that service each Walt Disney World and Disneyland. Our focus right here is on Walt Disney World, however you want to be as aware (if not moreso) in case you’re flying into SNA to go to Disneyland. The latter is our residence airport, so we’ll be overlaying that within the commentary, too.
On the time of publication, monitoring useful resource Flightaware has reported 445 delayed flights and 60 cancellations into or out of Orlando within the final day. Essentially the most impacted airways for cancellations are Delta and Southwest with 16 and 13, respectively. For delays, SWA has far and away essentially the most, at 171 flights. Most different main airways have 30-40 delays via MCO.
On the threat of stating the plain, these numbers are all greater than regular. They’re additionally decrease than the numbers might be by subsequent week when the cutbacks ramp as much as the complete 10%, ought to the federal government shutdown proceed to pull on. The present numbers are the results of a 4% cutback.
This Emergency Order adopted a warning that Vice President JD Vance had issued beforehand of impending “catastrophe” if the federal government shutdown continued nearer to the guts of the vacation journey season.
They argued that the elevated quantity and worsening winter climate would improve the calls for on air site visitors controllers simply as working with out pay may develop into untenable. They defined that many federal workers can face up to lacking one paycheck, however none of them can get via two lacking paychecks.
Air site visitors controllers have been already overburdened earlier than the shutdown, with widely-reported points at main East Coast airports on account of staffing shortages and antiquated techniques. There are reportedly 3,000 vacant jobs in a 14,000-position workforce, which had created a staffing crunch and necessary additional time for a lot of. That meant that many air site visitors amenities didn’t have sufficient staffing to accommodate absences, whatever the trigger.
Throughout the federal government shutdown, MCO is encouraging passengers to make use of the FlyMCO web site or Orlando MCO app to remain present about airport operations. We might second this advice, and advise using these sources throughout any busier dates, storm season, college breaks, or any time the climate forecast suggests there could be delays–so in different phrases, just about at all times!
Orlando Worldwide Airport is presently within the midst of its first true take a look at of vacation season journey because of Jersey Week, Veterans Day, and the beginning of the vacation season are proper across the nook. This confluence of circumstances trigger this week to make our record of the 10 Worst Weeks to Go to Walt Disney World in 2025.
We flew into MCO lately, after the in a single day meltdown on account of a scarcity of no licensed air site visitors controllers however earlier than the site visitors cutback. Our expertise was utterly uneventful. Our flight landed early, deplanned rapidly, and our suitcases have been at baggage declare in file time.
If I didn’t know any higher, I might’ve thought it was nonetheless the low season and issues have been enterprise as ordinary. Our return flight gained’t be till the cutbacks are absolutely ramped up. I really feel like we obtained a bit too fortunate on arrival, and the metaphorical invoice for that’s going to return due after we head residence.
At current, our flight residence has not been cancelled…but. I additionally wouldn’t anticipate that cancellation to happen till pretty last-minute, because the airways are doubtless in wait-and-see mode, hoping for a decision to the federal government shutdown earlier than unnecessarily upending their schedules. They don’t need to lose reserving income that may’t be recovered.
What I do see is that we now have choices to alter or cancel our flights with no charges past what’s usually obtainable at our fare class. We haven’t availed ourselves of this but, however will take into account doing so in a pair days if there isn’t extra readability to the scenario.
If in any respect doable, we’d suggest giving yourselves as a lot flexibility as doable. If there’s a significant airport with nonstop flights that’s a bit farther from you, go for that versus a more in-depth regional airport with a layover.
That is exactly what we’re doing, with plans to fly into LAX versus SNA. It would seem to be we now have that precisely backwards, since LAX is on the cancellation record however SNA just isn’t. Nonetheless, we are able to’t get a nonstop flight into SNA–and each single choice would undergo an airport that’s topic to the cutbacks. So all that might do is shift the theoretical delay from being caught at Walt Disney World to caught in another metropolis.
There are a couple of nonstop flights into LGB, however these are so few and much between that any impression there can be colossal. San Diego is an alternative choice, however the lack of close by options makes me weary. I’d moderately simply do MCO-LAX nonstop, hope for the perfect, however have a ton of potential pivots ought to the worst case play out.
We additionally suggest utilizing a significant legacy airline, like Delta or United. Keep away from extremely low-cost carriers, particularly those that fly fewer routes, don’t have reciprocal relationships with different airways, and are much less responsive when points come up since they compete on worth and never customer support. There isn’t an opportunity on earth that I’d be flying Frontier, Breeze or Spirit proper now. Possibly you’ll get fortunate, however that’s simply enjoying with hearth.
In fact, there’s additionally the choice of driving in case you’re inside an affordable distance. “Affordable” is clearly within the eye of the beholder–I’ve noticed a stunning variety of Canadian license plates within the Walt Disney World parking tons.
We’d additionally suggest arriving at MCO sooner than regular to present your self adequate time to get via safety and another delays you would possibly encounter. In case you haven’t already booked flights, I might additionally err on the aspect of earlier arrival and departure occasions, to present your self a buffer within the occasion of delays or cancellations. It could not assist, nevertheless it very properly would possibly.
In case you’re eligible, use the free Airport Baggage Switch at Walt Disney World. That is completely unrelated to the federal government shutdown; simply good recommendation throughout busier occasions of 12 months at MCO. (See the above about baggage drop-off delays.)
We might additionally warning in opposition to utilizing Mears Join for returning to the airport (from MCO to WDW is okay). Though we’ve by no means had points, we’ve heard horror tales, and with the chance of elevated delays in getting via safety, your margin for error is far more slim.
(For the primary time in a very long time, we opted to lease a automobile for this journey. That was a last-minute pivot we made as a result of prospect of journey disruptions simply to present ourselves flexibility. Even reserving it on the absolute final minute, we obtained a comparatively whole lot. Nonetheless dearer than simply utilizing Mears Join and free Disney transportation, however value it to us on this state of affairs.)
Even when the federal government shutdown ends and issues return to regular earlier than flight cancellations hit or exceed 10%, be suggested that “regular” throughout peak vacation weeks at MCO is nothing prefer it was once.
As we’ve repeatedly reported, MCO has damaged passenger quantity information over the course of the final couple of years and virtually all of its busiest days, weeks, and months ever have occurred since 2022. The airport is simply simply beginning to decelerate and not see year-over-year progress.
The present rolling 12-month complete is 56,737,251 passengers, which continues to be near file ranges and properly above the 2019 baseline. That is largely on account of a lower in home vacationers, because the worldwide quantity continues to indicate strong progress and set new information.
These numbers are extraordinary and reflective of the airport kind of hitting a mushy ceiling on its operational capability. Particularly throughout November and December, the airport is bursting on the seams and has unhappy demand. That’ll be even worse in 2025 if there’s an prolonged stretch of 10% or extra flights being cancelled.
Anybody who has traveled via MCO in the previous couple of years has most likely seen this, and it doesn’t actually matter what time of 12 months, what time of day, and many others. The airport is sort of at all times busy.
Seating areas on the gates are so full that they’ve added overflow seating to walkways, and people at the moment are full. The parking tons routinely are full, there’s site visitors congestion simply dropping individuals off or making pickups, traces to get via TSA are sometimes 30+ minutes–you get the thought.
We skilled this first-hand and documented it in Our Terrible Airport Experiences at Walt Disney World from final Christmas. These have been main issues getting from Walt Disney World to MCO, after which on the Delta counter for self-service baggage drop. That line ended up taking me over an hour. Simply to drop off a bag and confirm my ID.
In the end, in case you’re flying into or out of Orlando Worldwide Airport as a part of a holiday-time journey to Walt Disney World, you want to pack your persistence…and your politeness. No matter your emotions on the federal authorities shutdown, we are able to all agree that the frontline workers don’t have any say within the matter and that it’s very troublesome to work with out pay. We must always all be grateful that they’re there and doing their jobs, even when it comes with delays and cancellations.
So be grateful and categorical a bit gratitude, versus rudeness. It’s simple to overlook this once you’re flight will get unexpectedly cancelled or delayed, and your plans are disrupted or upended. It’s nonetheless vital to recollect. For one, it’s the proper factor to do. For an additional, you catch extra flies with honey than with vinegar. In different phrases, in case you’re asking for help or lodging, your odds of success are greater in case you’re good.
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Study motels on our Walt Disney World Lodges Evaluations web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Evaluations. To save cash on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Ideas for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets put up. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys put up takes a singular take a look at intelligent gadgets to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Journey Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the perfect place to start out is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for every part you want to know!
Your Ideas
What do you consider the ten% flight cancellations at MCO and 39 different main US airports? Anticipate this to worsen earlier than it will get higher? Please keep away from any political or antagonistic feedback; clearly, that is brought on by the federal authorities shutdown, which is inherently political, however there’s a solution to talk about the end result and impacts with out dragging private politics into this. In any other case, listening to your suggestions–even once you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
