Eclipse impact on air travel
Millions of Americans are expected to travel to see the total solar eclipse.
Cities and towns along the route of totality are expecting big crowds, but the event is also expected to cause chaos on the roads and in the skies.
The FAA is warning travelers and pilots the eclipse could snarl air traffic, especially at airports located in the path of totality. Mike Hillman, President of the Jets FBO Network, says we should be prepared.
"I think you would probably want to treat it a lot like you would treat a big weather event. If you were traveling on an impending snowstorm, this is sort of the mentality you want to take; as far as special provisions the FAA is taking, they've put out notice to the pilots that they expect delays expect congestion, and that's exactly what we're seeing at our Cleveland Hopkins location," Hillman said.
Though the total solar eclipse will have a noticeable impact on travel, air space will not be shut down.
"Without some unforeseen event, it's going to be business as usual," said Hillman. "There are no plans to shut down airspace, but if you take the Cleveland example, what we've done there and what the FAA in the airport have gone to extra lengths to take reservations and try and predict and account for all this extra traffic and park it in places on the airport that won't interfere with the United American Southwest departures," he said.
If there are planes in the air during totality, Hillman says it's nothing to worry about.
"We regularly transition from day to night; it obviously doesn't happen quite this fast," said Hillman. "But we fly all night, we fly all day, and right through the transition of dusk to dawn and dusk to sunset, I should say. And I don't anticipate any problems in the air short of delays," he said.