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HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Passengers that ABC13 spoke with say the first day of the FAA air traffic reduction caused stress and sleep loss. For some IAH passengers, Friday wasn't a normal travel experience. "I was freaking out this entire morning," passenger Albert Garcia recalled. "I was like, 'we've got to get here three hours before.'" "I'm scared, terrified," passenger Francia Imane said. "I'm here four hours earlier, hoping things go well. I didn't sleep last night." The anxious feelings that passengers say are tied to what started on Friday. The Federal Aviation Administration asked airlines to reduce their schedules at 40 airports, including Bush Intercontinental and Hobby airports. Officials say the reduction is needed to keep passengers safe some federal workers who haven't been paid for more than a month aren't showing up for work. For now, the reduction is 4%. In the coming days, FAA officials said they'll ask for more. Next Tuesday, it climbs to 6%. By Thursday, it's 8%. And next Friday, it's 10%. "A lot of stress," Imane explained. "All the way from downsizing, packing light, trying to avoid anything that's going to bring any kind of delays." Here's how the first day went. FlightAware data shows there were 52 cancellations between the two airports. That's compared to just 11 cancellations between both airports on Thursday. As for Saturday, more than 40 flights have been canceled so far. So far, 20 cancellations are listed for Sunday. "We are traveling for softball, and a couple of parents said their flights got cancelled," Garcia said. Frontier Airlines' CEO, Billy Biffle, shared a suggestion on social media on how to handle the situation. He advised passengers to buy a backup ticket for a later flight on the same day to avoid impact to their travel plans. "Who has that kind of money? You can't do that," Imane said. "Things are tight. Workers haven't been paid yet, and that is not even a reasonable solution." If you are traveling in the coming days, airlines have made changes to help impacted customers. Some of those airlines, including United and Southwest, are offering passengers who don't want to deal with this to get a refund, even if their flights aren't canceled. For updates on this story, follow Nick Natario on Facebook, X and Instagram.
