Yesterday, the FAA-imposed furlough of air traffic controllers went into effect as that agency seeks to comply with a mandated sequestration 10% budget reduction.  Further, the FAA has plans to close 149 contract airport control towers serving smaller communities in June.

According to Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, the FAA will institute automatic ground stops without regard to conditions, which will cause delays for travelers all across the country with some airports seeing a reduction of on-time flight arrivals of 40%.

“The math simply does not work, and it is irresponsible to suggest that a 10 percent reduction of air traffic control hours should mean 40 percent fewer flights can arrive on time,” A4A President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio said. “It’s unjust, unnecessary and completely irresponsible.”

“40% fewer fights will arrive on time”

“Air traffic controllers have never been furloughed, regardless of any budget cuts, and there is a reason for that—they are critical to maintain the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System,” Calio said. “We continue to believe that the FAA has other means to reach a 10 percent budget reduction than to impact the traveling public. When a company needs to make a 10 percent budget reduction, the answer is not to make it is so inefficient that no one wants to do business with it anymore. That’s essentially what the FAA is proposing, and in doing so harming the 2 million passengers and shippers that fund two-thirds of its budget.”

Sadly, the upshot of all of this is that those of us who enjoy leisure travel are going to have another great frustration at our nation’s airports, 40% of the flights arriving late.

If you are as unhappy about this as we are, then A4A has developed a very simple procedure for you to let congress and the administration know of your disdain of this decimation of our already beleaguered airline industry.

Through its “DontGroundAmerica.com” campaign A4A is calling on airline customers, employees, families and friends to join the fight and send a letter to President Obama, Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary LaHood, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Huerta, and their members of Congress to tell the Administration to end this now.

Click the link above and let your voice be heard!