U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy cautioned on Friday that the government might compel airlines to reduce flights by up to 20 percent if the ongoing government shutdown persisted. In response to directives from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), airlines slashed four percent of their domestic flights at 40 major airports to alleviate pressure on air traffic controllers, with further reductions to reach 10 percent by November 14. Duffy indicated the potential for imposing 20 percent cuts later, emphasizing decisions based on airspace data analysis.
The prolonged government shutdown, lasting 38 days, has resulted in 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 security screeners working without pay, leading to increased absenteeism. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford noted that between 20 to 40 percent of controllers were absent on any given day this week. The Trump administration is intensifying pressure on Democrats to accept a Republican proposal for funding the government, aiming to end the shutdown.
Democrats blame Republicans for the shutdown, citing their refusal to negotiate extending health insurance subsidies as the reason. New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, criticized the shutdown by highlighting a photo of an airport flight board filled with cancellations, characterizing it as grounding America right before the holidays. The current flight reductions affect approximately 700 flights operated by major carriers like American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines, with plans to increase cuts to six percent next week, excluding international flights.
Separately, air traffic controller absences on Friday caused flight delays at 10 airports, including Atlanta, San Francisco, Houston, Phoenix, Washington, and Newark, resulting in over 3,500 delayed flights by 3:30 p.m. ET. American Airlines CEO Robert Isom anticipates minimal disruptions initially but cautioned against potential issues with increased cuts. American Airlines reported 220 flight cancellations affecting 12,000 passengers on Friday.
United Airlines managed to rebook half of the affected customers within four hours of their original departure time. United canceled 184 flights on Friday and plans to cut 168 on Saturday and 158 on Sunday. Duffy emphasized that the reductions aim to ensure safety by compensating for fatigued and absent air traffic controllers. The FAA is also restricting space launches and may reject cuts disproportionately affecting specific communities while considering reducing up to 10 percent of general aviation flights at high-traffic airports in case of staffing challenges.