The FAA has issued a warning for air travel on “Eclipse” Monday, April 8, advising both pilots and passengers of the unusual conditions that could occur during the day and impact flights around the continental United States.
In an alert to pilots, the FAA wrote, “The purpose of this notice is to inform airmen of the possible impacts to air traffic and airports along the eclipse path during the period April 7, 2024, 1000 UTC through April 10, 2024, 0400 UTC.”
In a warning to passengers, the FAA is advising everyone to remain patient with possible delays caused by the solar eclipse. “While most travelers are heading to their favorite vacation destinations, a significant number of travelers are heading to various states to witness ‘The Great North American Eclipse’ on Monday, April 8,” the FAA wrote in a press release. “Travelers flying along the eclipse path may encounter limited parking and potential delays at airports due to the high volume of aircraft and drones attempting to witness the total solar eclipse.”
The FAA believes spring break travel peaked with 50,670 flights on April 4 and 48,904 flights on April 5. Beyond typical spring break travel, the FAA says it is likely people are traveling to or have traveled to the fifteen states that will experience a total eclipse: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, as well as small parts of Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. These areas will experience the “path of totality” where the moon will entire block the sun, turning daytime into night time for several minutes.
The FAA wants travelers to be patient, give themselves extra time at the airport, and pack safely.
Meanwhile, the FAA also wants pilots to be especially patient and safe. “Aircraft should be prepared for potential airborne holding, reroutes, and/or Expect Departure Clearance Times (EDCTs) that may be issued for all domestic IFR (instrument flight rules) arrivals and departures. Traffic Management Initiatives (TMIs) are possible. In order to assist FBOs (fix based operators) with staging aircraft and to ease ramp congestion, aircraft departing airports along the eclipse path are strongly encouraged to coordinate their departure times as early as possible,” said the FAA in a written statement.
The FAA added, “There may be a higher traffic volume than normal anticipated at airports along the path of the eclipse. Traffic should anticipate delays during peak traffic periods. Parking may be limited – particularly at the smaller, uncontrolled airports. There could be a delay with issuance of IFR departure clearances. VFR (visual flight rules) departures may also expect delays for airborne pickup of IFR clearance within 50 nautical miles either side of the path of the eclipse.”
Pilots may also be prevented to do some maneuvers around the eclipse. “Practice approaches, touch-and-goes, flight following services and pilot training operations at airports in the path of the eclipse may be extremely limited and possibly prohibited during this time period, Airmen should check NOTAMs carefully for special procedures/restrictions that may be in place at affected airports. Specific NOTAM procedures may be revised, and arrivals to some airports possibly restricted so please review NOTAMs frequently to verify you have the current information,” the FAA cautions pilots.
