A Hawaii tourism official said flight delays that could occur next week if automatic federal spending cuts are triggered shouldn’t affect the state’s tourism industry as much as other destinations.
"It would have a huge impact if airports were closed, but my understanding is that it wouldn’t get to that," said David Uchiyama, vice president of brand management for the Hawaii Tourism Authority. "I think it affects us more with air traffic controllers. At this point, fortunately because we’re not a business destination as much as we’d like to be and more people are here on leisure, I don’t think the impact will be as great. That’s without seeing the full impact of the staffing."
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said at a White House briefing Friday that automatic federal spending cuts set to begin March 1 would lead to flight delays as long as 90 minutes at major airports, including those in New York, Chicago and San Francisco.
He said the Federal Aviation Administration will furlough staff at air-traffic control facilities beginning April 1. More than 230 towers at smaller and midsize airports may be closed, according to a list posted on the FAA website.
"It’s going to be very painful for the flying public," LaHood told reporters at the briefing. "This is going to have an enormous impact."
The only Hawaii facility on the list that would be closed is John Rodgers Field in Kalaeloa, an old Air Force runway that is kept active and maintained for emergency landings, according to the FAA website.
There are no Hawaii facilities listed where overnight shifts might be eliminated.
Uchiyama said he’s been in conversations with Hawaii Airports Division Deputy Director Ford Fuchigami.
"He made sure that we are aware that there’s a possibility of these cuts and how they would potentially affect the airport operations, and basically looked at delays because of FAA staffing," Uchiyama said.
State Department of Transportation spokeswoman Caroline Sluyter said the Airports Division is monitoring the issue.
"We are in contact with our federal congressional delegation, our federal partners at the FAA and other agencies that may be affected," she said.
FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said he couldn’t provide any further information about Hawaii outside of the information that was provided at the briefing and on the FAA website.
Next week’s deadline to avoid the cuts marks another fiscal showdown pitting President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies against congressional Republicans. Without a deal, $1.2 trillion in across-the-board spending cuts, known as sequestration, will take effect Friday.
LaHood said his staff was providing information on the agency’s projections to Airlines for America, the Washington-based trade group representing carriers including Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc.
"Once airlines see the potential impact of these furloughs, we expect that they will change their schedules and cancel flights," LaHood said.
Uchiyama said the importance of being on time to make meetings and other things of that nature will be a greater issue for the high-traffic business routes.
"That’s going to create major adjustments people will have to make to compensate for the delays, which I think over time they can adjust for," he said. "But for us a good portion of our business is leisure, and I think there’s a little more flexibility. But it does affect the traveler’s experience, and that’s something we’re very sensitive to."
The U.S. Transportation Department began talks Friday with air traffic controller unions about plans for closing or reducing the operating hours at some towers, he said. Tower cutbacks and flight delays would probably begin around April 1, he said.
"Safety is always the top priority of air traffic controllers, but the reality is this — safety will be preserved at the expense of operations across the country," Paul Rinaldi, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association union, said in a statement.
"Once towers are closed, the airports they serve may be next. Additionally, we believe the delay estimates provided by the FAA are conservative and the potential for disruptions could be much higher."
The FAA could close 72 towers and regional radar rooms during overnight shifts, according to a list posted by the agency. Locations on that list include California’s capital, Sacramento; DuPage Airport in West Chicago, Ill.; and Boeing Field/King County International in Seattle.
"Air transportation is a key driver of our economy, and should not be used as a political football," Airlines for America said in a statement. Airlines and the FAA "will be meeting soon to plan for any potential cutbacks," it said.
The government won’t compromise safety as cutbacks take effect, LaHood said. Having fewer controllers on duty at major airports will ripple across the country, forcing airlines to adjust schedules, he said.
"It’s not possible to continue the same schedules with less people," he said.
The FAA, the agency with the most employees at the Transportation Department, will absorb about $600 million of the department’s $1 billion automatic cut, LaHood said. The automatic budget cuts have to be across the board, limiting officials’ ability to manage the effects, he said.
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Bloomberg News contributed to this story.
