Live updates: Flight cancellations at Orlando’s MCO

REMAIN DRY. BACK TO YOU GUYS AND CAM. OUR BIGGEST TRAFFIC STORY THIS MORNING, OF COURSE, HAPPENING AT THE AIRPORT WHERE THE FAA IS REDUCING UP TO 10% OF FLIGHTS STARTING TODAY. FIRST WARNING TRAFFIC EXPERT MEGAN MACKEY JOINS US LIVE FROM MCO. MEGAN, YOU’RE KEEPING AN EYE AT THE AIRPORT, BUT ALSO ON THE ROADS THIS MORNING. YEAH, WE DON’T WANT TO SCARE ANYONE, REALLY. THE AIRPORT SEEMS FULLY OPERATIONAL THIS MORNING. WE DO HAVE A LITTLE OVER TWO DOZEN FLIGHTS ARE CANCELED AS PART OF THAT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. BOB HAZEN IS GOING TO HAVE MORE ON THAT IN JUST A MOMENT, BUT I’M LIVE IN TERMINAL C RIGHT NOW. YOU CAN SEE THINGS ARE RUNNING AS NORMAL. I DO FLATTER THIS TERMINAL FREQUENTLY AND THINGS LOOK AS THEY ALWAYS DO. THIS IS A LOOK HERE AT THE TSA LINE. RIGHT NOW IT’S AT LESS THAN 17 MINUTES. AND THAT IS FOR STANDARD TSA WITHOUT ANY PRECHECK WITHOUT ANY CLEAR. AND WE DO KNOW THAT THOSE TSA WORKERS ARE AFFECTED BY THAT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. THEY’RE NOT BEING PAID, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE THEY ARE FULLY STAFFED HERE. THIS MORNING AT ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. SO IT’S BEEN SMOOTH SINCE I GOT HERE AROUND 430 THIS MORNING. JUST ALWAYS MAKE SURE TO CHECK WITH YOUR FLIGHT BEFORE HEADING TO THE AIRPORT. CHECK WITH THE AIRLINE TO SEE IF THERE’S ANY CANCELLATIONS OR DELAYS, BUT LOOKS LIKE MOST PEOPLE FLYING OUT OF ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AT LEAST THIS MORNING ARE NOT GOING TO BE IMPACTED. TAKING A LOOK AT THE ROADS RIGHT NOW, THERE IS A CRASH. I’VE BEEN MONITORING WORKING TO CLEAR IN OSCEOLA COUNTY ALONG U.S. 192 RIGHT AT WESTGATE BOULEVARD. NO DELAYS THERE. THAT’S IN THE FOUR CORNERS AREA, BUT I’LL CONTINUE TO KEEP MY EYE ON THAT. ALSO, I-4, WE’RE OFF TO A SMOOTH START ON THIS FRIDAY. THIS IS A LIVE LOOK IN SEMINOLE COUNTY NEAR LAKE MARY BOULEVARD. REALLY QUIET ON THE ROADS. SO A GOOD TIME TO THAT FOR THAT MORNING DRIVE. BUT AS I MENTIONED, WESH 2’S BOB HAZEN IS LIV HERE ALSO AT ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. BUT HE’S OVER IN TERMINALS A AND B AND BOB YOU ARE KEEPING AN EYE ON THOSE CANCELLATIONS TODAY. AND MEGAN, AS YOU SAID, MOST OF THE ISSUES ARE GOING TO BE LATER ON THROUGHOUT THE DAY AS THOSE CANCELLATIONS BUILD UP. AND I WANT TO SHOW YOU WHAT THE BIG BOARD LOOKS LIKE HERE IN TERMINAL A, AND YOU CAN SEE ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, THOSE ARE THE ARRIVING FLIGHTS. AND SO FAR THERE’S ONLY TWO CANCELLATIONS ON THAT SIDE. OF COURSE THERE’S MORE THROUGHOUT THE DAY, BUT ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, MOST OF THAT IS IN THE GREEN OR ALREADY BOARDING. SO WE ONLY HAVE ONE CANCELLATION THIS EARLY MORNING PART THAT’S GOING TO BE AT 8:00 THIS MORNING. THAT IS A FRONTIER FLIGHT HEADING TO SAINT LOUIS. THAT WILL BE THE FIRST ONE CANCELED. BUT AS WE SAY, WE KNOW THERE ARE EXPECTED TO BE AT LEAST 29 CANCELED FLIGHTS INTO OR OUT OF THE AIRPORT TODAY. OFFICIALS HERE SAY THAT THEY DID GET WORD LATE LAST NIGHT FROM THE FAA THAT MCO IS ONE OF THOSE AIRPORTS GETTING REDUCED AIR TRAFFIC. THAT’S SUPPOSED TO START WITH A 4% REDUCTION TODAY, WHICH WOULD MEAN ABOUT 40 FLIGHTS CANCELED. EVENTUALLY, THEY’RE PLANNING TO CUT OUT 10% OF THE AIR TRAFFIC HERE. THE FEDS ARE DOING THAT TO DEAL WITH A SHORTAGE OF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS, TSA AGENTS AND OTHER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES WHO HAVE BEEN WORKING FOR OVER A MONTH NOW WITH NO PAYCHECK BECAUSE OF THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. WE TALKED WITH SOME FOLKS FROM THE PROFESSIONAL AVIATION SAFETY SPECIALISTS UNION ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE DEALING WITH. THEY WENT WITHOUT ONE PAYCHECK AND THEY’RE STILL COMING IN TO WORK, BUT NOW THEY’RE AT THE POINT THAT, OKAY, I’VE GOT TO PAY MY MORTGAGE, I’VE GOT TO PAY MY CHILDCARE, I’VE STILL GOT TO PUT GAS IN THE CAR TO GET TO WORK. HOW DO I DO THIS? AND THAT’S STRESSFUL. AND WHEN WE’RE HAVING TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS AT WORK THAT DISTRACTS US FROM DOING OUR REGULAR JOB. AND AT THIS POINT, IT LOOKS LIKE MOST OF THE CANCELLATIONS ARE FLIGHTS THAT ARE COMING TO ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL. THERE ARE 17 OF THOSE ARRIVING FLIGHTS CANCELED, COMPARED TO 12 DEPARTING FLIGHTS THAT ARE CANCELED, AND THEY ARE REALLY SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE DAY, MOST OF THEM IN THE AFTERNOON. WE ALSO GOT A STATEMENT FROM MCO LAST NIGHT SAYING, QUOTE, TO THIS POINT, ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL HAS BEEN FORTUNATE THAT FEDERAL AIRPORT EMPLOYEES HAVE CONTINUED TO COME TO WORK AND THERE HAS BEEN MINIMAL IMPACT TO AIRPORT OPERATIONS. WE DEEPLY APPRECIATE OUR FEDERAL PARTNERS FOR THEIR COMMITMENT. IF YOU WERE PLANNING TO FLY OUT TODAY OR SOON, AT LEAST YOU SHOULD REALLY CHECK IN WITH YOUR AIRLINE WITH THAT FLIGHT STATUS TO MAKE SURE IT IS STILL ON FOR TODAY. AND SOME OF THE AIRLINES ARE SAYING THAT IF YOU WANT TO CANCEL YOUR FLIGHT OR CHANGE YOUR PLANS, YOU CAN DO SO OR GET A REFUND WITH NO PENALTY. COVERING ORANGE COUNTY