The continuing partial shutdown of the U.S. government, including the Federal Aviation Administration is starting to hit the airlines, with a delay in certification delaying Southwest’s first flights to Hawaii and the debut of Delta’s A220s.
Southwest is the harder hit, so far; it has completed most of its ETOPS certification, but cannot fly its final proving flights because the FAA personnel who would supervise them are furloughed. ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-Engine Operational Performance Standards) is the mouth-filling set of rules that allow two-engine planes to be certified safe for long over-water flights.
Southwest had planned to start selling tickets within days of approval and to begin flights soon after; many Southwest frequent fliers have been saving their points for Hawaii trips.
Delta’s situation is somewhat different. It can continue flying older, less-efficient planes on the routes that were to switch over to the fuel-efficient and popular A220s, which still need final certification. But eventually that will run up costs since both sets of planes will need to be housed and maintained while only one flies. And, if the shutdown goes even further, it could block operation of the A330neo planes Delta expects to start receiving soon.
