Over 800 flights cancelled in US after aviation agency’s directive to cut air traffic

More than 800 flights in the US were cancelled on Friday morning to reduce air traffic as per the directive of the Federal Aviation Administration to help ease pressure on air traffic controllers, who have been working without pay amid the ongoing government shutdown. According to the flight tracking website FlightAware, SkyWest has cancelled more than 170 flights, Southwest Airlines has dropped around 120, and United has cut 64 flights scheduled for Friday. FlightAware added that around 200 flights within, into or out of the US were cancelled on Thursday. Reductions in flights began at 40 major US airports on Friday to help address the shortage of air traffic controllers as a result of the government shutdown and subsequent safety concerns.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said that air traffic must be reduced by 4% on Friday, a move that would force airlines to cancel thousands of flights and lead to chaos.

There are 14,000 air traffic controllers in the US, stationed across 527 airport control towers, and many of whom have not received a cent of their salaries for two weeks. These controllers together handle around 44,000 flights every single day.

At peak times, controllers are responsible for safely directing more than 5,000 flights at the same time.

The government shutdown has left shortages of up to 3,000 air traffic controllers, according to the administration, in addition to at least 11,000 more receiving zero wages despite being categorized as essential workers.

‘This isn’t about politics,’ says US transportation secretary

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said that the decision to cut the number of flights is about safety, not politics. “This isn’t about politics, it’s about assessing the data and alleviating building risk in the system as controllers continue working without pay,” he wrote in a post on X on Thursday evening.

"It’s safe to fly today, tomorrow, and the day after because of the proactive actions we are taking.”

The US government shutdown, going on since 1 October, is now in its 38th day, the longest in history.

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4,000 flights a day could be cancelled if shutdown continues

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says it will be starting at 4% of domestic flights on Friday before rising to 6% by 11 November and 8% by 13 November, hitting the full 10% by 14 November.

The cancellations could affect between 3,500 and 4,000 flights per day.

Scott Kirby, the United Airlines CEO, said, “The goal of regulators is to relieve pressure on the aviation system so that we can all continue to operate safely. That is the FAA’s highest priority, and ours as well. No matter what environment we’re operating in, we will not compromise on safety.”

American Airlines said most customers would be unaffected and long-haul international travel would remain as scheduled, and that customers could change their flight or request a refund. “In the meantime, we continue to urge leaders in Washington to reach an immediate resolution to end the shutdown,” the statement said.