TULSA, Okla — The Federal Aviation Administration announced it would be cutting 10 percent of flights across top 40 markets across the United States as the government shutdown continues on for the 38th day.
The cuts officially started on Nov. 7. While the Tulsa International Airport is not considered one of these top 40 markets, it flies to and from places that are, such as Chicago.
WATCH: 'There were no terminals available': Travelers seeing impact of FAA flight cuts in Tulsa:
Many passengers reported that they were lucky to have had no issues.
Walker Littlefield from Catoosa said he had a work trip and flew in from Atlanta Friday morning.
“They actually announced it a day or two before I left," he said. "I was definitely concerned about that but I was luckily blessed enough to where I didn’t have any kind of delays or cancelations.”
The Tulsa International Airport posts updates on their website regarding flight statuses to help airlines keep their passengers informed.
People are encouraged to stay in touch with their airlines and monitor any website updates.
Krista Thompson flew in from Jacksonville, Florida and said while her flight made it on time, the atmosphere was very different.
“We were told by the flight attendants and the crew on the ground that we had to be in our seats and ready for take off within 15 minutes," she said. "We had a 20-minute window from the time everybody boarded to the wheels taking off the ground, or by the aircraft, or we were not going to be leaving Jacksonville.”
Still, not everyone's been as lucky.
Thaddaeus Bab said coming back home to Tulsa from a work trip in Rhode Island wasn’t easy.
“There were no terminals available, so we were kind of taxiing out on the runway for about 45 minutes, little longer before we were able to get to a terminal," he said. "It made connecting flights very tight. But that problem seemed to be continuing, because the next flight was also delayed another hour as they were waiting to try and find terminals to bring the plane in.”
While Bab said he was jetlagged from the day he had, he knows everyone's doing their best.
“The people on the on the planes, it's not their fault," he said. "I can sincerely say they were trying as hard as they can, and very stressed out, taking a lot of heat from stressed out people.”
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