Airlines tapping Thanksgiving pilot reserves early as government shutdown snarls flights

Reserve pilots who typically assist during the busy Thanksgiving travel period are already being called into service due to the persisting delays throughout the U.S. aviation system, which could significantly exacerbate disruptions during the critical time, a pilots union spokesperson said.These pilots are limited by federal regulations on how many hours they can fly each month, so if they are used more frequently earlier in November, "that means they won’t have headroom to fly later when needed the most during our heaviest flight schedules during the Thanksgiving week," Dennis Tajer, a vetera