ABC News experienced an unexpected shift on Thursday night as anchor David Muir was absent from the broadcast. Instead, Wade Johnson took the helm, delivering a critical report on the Trump administration’s management of a significant aviation crisis. Over 1,000 flights were delayed across the United States due to a government shutdown that has strained air traffic control resources.
Johnson opened the segment by stating, “Good evening and thanks for joining us. I’m Wade Johnson in for David tonight,” before diving into the escalating situation affecting air travel. Major airlines, including Delta, United, American, and Southwest, were forced to cut their schedules significantly, leaving travelers grappling with delays and cancellations.
Travelers in Washington, D.C. reported waits of over four hours as they tried to salvage their weekend and holiday plans. Correspondent Stephanie Ramos provided live updates from Newark Airport, where the cancellations had a cascading effect, disrupting more than 4,000 flights. One traveler described the experience as a “total headache and disaster,” while another expressed concern about missing a family reunion in Florida.
Passengers shared their frustrations, with one individual, Karen Soika, humorously recounting her chaotic rebooking process. “They moved me to JFK an hour earlier,” she said, “Then gave me an 11-hour layover in some place called Port of Spain. Crazy.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, appointed by the Trump administration, defended the drastic measures taken, asserting that the flight reductions were necessary for safety rather than political reasons. “Some people have second guessed what we’ve done,” Duffy remarked to reporters. “We have not politicized the airspace. We’re doing everything possible to minimize disruption and keep it safe.”
Duffy warned that the reduction in flights, which started at 10 percent earlier in the week, could potentially double if the shutdown persists. Speaking at a Breitbart News event in Washington, he indicated that if more air traffic controllers opted to take second jobs due to financial constraints, the situation could worsen. “If this continues… you might see 15 percent or 20 percent,” he stated.
Later, Duffy clarified his comments in a statement to The Hill, indicating that the higher percentages were merely theoretical. “Could it go there? That’s possible. There’s no plan for that,” he added. He emphasized that decisions would be made based on the real-time situation in the airspace to ensure safety.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had already initiated its plan on Friday, beginning to reduce the number of flights at 40 major airports by 4 percent, with further reductions of 2 percent daily until reaching a total cut of 10 percent.
As air travel remains in turmoil, viewers of ABC News are left to wonder when Muir will return to the anchor desk and how the ongoing impacts of the government shutdown will continue to affect travelers across the country.
