The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Wednesday that 40 airports across the United States will face significant flight reductions starting Friday, creating what industry experts are calling an unprecedented travel disruption during the ongoing government shutdown.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford revealed the 10 percent slowdown affecting airports in the nation’s largest cities.
The cuts will impact major hubs including all three New York City area airports—JFK, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty—along with facilities in Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington DC.
Bedford acknowledged the severity of the situation during the announcement.
“We’re in new territory in terms of government shutdowns,” he said.
“I’m not aware in my 35-year history in the aviation market where we’ve had a situation where we’re taking these kinds of measures.”
The decision comes as air traffic controllers have worked without pay since the shutdown began Oct. 1.
Most controllers have been working six-day weeks with mandatory overtime, leading to increasing strain on the workforce.
Aviation analytics firm Cirium estimates the reductions could eliminate as many as 1,800 flights and upward of 268,000 seats combined.
O’Hare International Airport in Chicago alone could see 121 of its 1,212 flights scheduled for Friday cut if the FAA distributes reductions equally among affected airports.
Airline industry analyst Henry Harteveldt warned of the impending disruptions.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s going to be an unholy mess for the next few days if these cuts go through,” Harteveldt said, per Daily Mail reporting.
The FAA made the decision based on voluntary safety reports from pilots indicating growing fatigue among air traffic controllers and increased staffing pressures.
With some controllers calling out due to frustration, taking second jobs or lacking money for childcare or gas, staffing shortages during certain shifts have already led to flight delays at numerous airports.
Bedford emphasized the proactive nature of the decision.
“We’re not going to wait for a safety problem to truly manifest itself when the early indicators are telling us we can take action today to prevent things from deteriorating,” he said.
“The system is extremely safe today and will be extremely safe tomorrow. If the pressures continue to build even after we take these measures, we’ll come back and take additional measures.”
Recent data reveals the growing impact of the shutdown on air traffic control operations.
During weekend periods since the shutdown began, an average of 26.2 facilities announced potential staffing issues—more than triple the 8.3 average from January through September.
Major airlines are scrambling to adjust their schedules with limited notice.
The Daily Mail noted that United CEO Scott Kirby sent a letter to employees promising to focus cuts on regional routes and flights that don’t travel between hubs.
“United’s long-haul international flying and our hub-to-hub flying will not be impacted by this schedule reduction direction from the FAA,” he said.
United announced on social media that all customers are eligible for refunds, even if their flight is not impacted.
The airline said it is working to update schedules with several days’ advance notice.
Southwest and American also said they will work to minimize consumer impact while complying with the order.
Harteveldt criticized the government’s approach to the announcement.
“To tell airlines you’ve got 48 hours to rebuild your schedules at 90% of what you’ve got isn’t much time, and it’s going to result in a lot of chaos,” said Harteveldt, who was waiting to hear if his own Saturday flight from San Francisco to Dallas would be canceled.
He suggested the Trump administration may be using aviation safety “to force the two sides in Washington back to the negotiating table to resolve the shutdown.”
