U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a mandate to cut 10% of flights at 40 major U.S. airports starting Friday unless the federal government shutdown ends.
The shutdown is now the longest in U.S. history, lasting 36 days, with no resolution in sight due to a bipartisan funding impasse in Congress.
Driving the news: Approximately 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents have been working without pay during the shutdown, exacerbating staffing shortages.
- These shortages have resulted in widespread flight delays and significantly longer security lines at airports.
The big picture: Though the administration did not specify all affected airports, the cuts are expected at the 30 busiest airports, including those in New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Dallas.
- Flight reductions could lead to the cancellation of around 1,800 flights and remove over 268,000 airline seats, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
- The aim of the flight cuts is to relieve pressure on air traffic controllers overwhelmed by staff shortages.
- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned that further flight restrictions could be implemented if air traffic issues persist after the initial cutbacks.
Go deeper: FAA data revealed attendance issues, with 20% to 40% of air traffic controllers at the 30 largest airports failing to show up for work.
- Duffy warned that if the shutdown continued beyond another week, it could cause “mass chaos” and might even force airspace closures.
- More than 3.2 million passengers have been affected by delays and cancellations linked to controller absences during the shutdown.
