Flight status at MSO shows cancellations, delays due to shutdown

Martin Kidston

(Missoula Current) Flights in and out of Missoula Montana Airport have been all over the board the past two days as the FAA reduces air traffic and airlines preemptively cut flights.

The flight status of Missoula flights at 1:40 p.m. on Friday showed one arrival cancellation by Delta from Salt Lake City and two delays, one by Alaska Airlines from Seattle and one by United from Denver.

The Delta departure from Missoula to Salt Lake City was also canceled while an Alaskan departure to Portland was delayed.

The issue hadn't improved by 9 a.m. on Saturday, with another Salt Lake City cancellation and two delays, one to Denver and the other to Seattle.

The federal government on Friday started ordering flight cuts at 40 major airports due to the shutdown. But the cuts at the larger airports are trickling down to smaller airports, where the impact may be greater.

Missoula airport officials said they were unsure on how the cancellations would affect flights to and from Missoula. “We're entering into a lot of unknowns at the moment,” airport director Brian Ellestad said.