Passengers are bracing for travel chaos as the Federal Aviation Administration is due to announce the 40 airports where flights will be reduced by 10 percent because of the ongoing government shutdown.
The flight cuts, expected to hit 40 major U.S. travel hubs, will start as soon as Friday after the agency maintained the decision was paramount for safe air travel amid pressure on air traffic controllers, who âare under immense stress and fatigue,â the agency said.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Wednesday that the decision âhad not been taken lightlyâ ahead of the busy Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday travel season.
During Wednesdayâs press conference, Duffy declined to name the cities and airports where they will slow air traffic, saying the agency wanted to first meet with airline executives to figure out how to safely implement the reductions.
Travel experts predict hundreds, if not thousands, of flights could be canceled. The cuts could represent as many as 1,800 flights and upwards of 268,000 seats combined, according to an estimate by aviation analytics firm Cirium.
A proposed list of affected airports, which is not final, includes Atlantaâs Hartsfield-Jackson International, the busiest airport in the country, Boston Logan International, Chicago OâHare International, Ronald Reagan Washington National, Newark Liberty International, New York John F Kennedy, Los Angeles International and Seattle Tacoma International, according to CBS.
The agency is yet to publish the confirmed list of affected airports.
The Independent has contacted the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration for further information.
Duffy said the agency was confronting staffing shortages caused by air traffic controllers, who are working unpaid, with some calling out of work during the shutdown, resulting in delays across the country. The air traffic controllers are also not being paid while the government remains shut down.
The secretary hit back at accusations that flights were being cut for âleverageâ as the pressure is mounting on Republicans and Democrats to hammer out a deal to end the shutdown, now the longest in federal government history.
âLet me be clear: this isnât about âleverageâ â itâs about the safety of the flying public,â Duffy said Thursday in a post on X.
United Airlines warned its customers that the cuts were focused on regional and domestic mainline flights.
âUnitedâs long-haul international and hub-to-hub flights will not be impacted,â the airline said in a social media post. âInstead, the focus is on schedule reductions to regional and domestic mainline flights that do not travel between our hub airports.â
The airline added that any customers traveling during the affected period are eligible for a refund, âeven if your flight is not impacted.â
American Airlines said it expected the âvast majorityâ of passengers would not be impacted by the cuts and it would reach out to customers affected directly.
Many passengers were asking airlines for clarity on social media.
American Airlines replied to one customer Thursday morning, stating that while flights scheduled for Nov. 6 were expected to go ahead, it was still awaiting further information from the FAA.
Delta said it expected the majority of its flights to operate as planned. âWe are providing additional flexibility to all of our customers during the impacted travel period to change, cancel or refund their flights, including our basic economy fares, without penalty,â the airline added.
The shutdown, now in its 36th day and the longest in U.S. history, has forced 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers to work without pay and affected tens of thousands of flights so far, according to Reuters.
Duffy warned of âadditional disruptionsâ and âfrustrationâ due to the flight reductions.
Additional reporting from agencies
