US flight cancellations soar as government shutdown enters critical phase

ANKARA
Flights across the US started collapsing under the weight of a government shutdown that’s dragging through its longest stretch, killing hundreds of routes and threatening worse in the coming days, media reports said on Friday.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a 4% reduction in flights from 6 am (GMT-4), citing safety and staffing shortages caused by the shutdown, CNN reported. The cutback affects 40 high-traffic airports and could rise to 10% by next Friday unless a budget deal is reached.

“We are seeing signs of stress in the system,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said. “We are proactively reducing the number of flights to make sure the American people continue to fly safely.”

Major airports affected include New York’s John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia, and Newark Liberty, as well as Los Angeles International, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, Denver, and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson. Smaller regional airports dependent on these hubs are also expected to face cascading delays and cancellations.

Delta Air Lines canceled around 170 flights Friday, United Airlines 200, and American Airlines 220 through Monday -- roughly 4% of each carrier’s schedule. Southwest Airlines reported 100 cancellations and warned of further cuts.

Sarah Jantz, spokesperson for American Airlines, said: “Even with these cancellations, we plan to operate around 6,000 daily flights.”

Industry officials compared the impact to a severe weather event “spread across multiple cities rather than a single region.”

The shutdown, which began Oct. 1, has halted pay for federal employees, including air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers, who remain on duty without pay.

“Controllers are resigning every day now because of the prolonged nature of the shutdown,” said Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, adding that the agency is 400 controllers short -- worse than during the 2019 shutdown.

More than 450 staffing shortages have been recorded since the shutdown began, according to CNN analysis.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the flight cuts were necessary to preserve safety. “This is safety management, the very foundation of our aviation system,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy posted on the US social media company X.

Passengers were urged to book flexible tickets and consider backup travel options. Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle wrote on Instagram: “If you are flying Friday or in the next ten days and need to be there or don’t want to be stranded, I highly recommend booking a backup ticket on another carrier.”

Airlines including Delta, United, American, Southwest, and Frontier are offering waivers for rebooking without penalties. Refunds remain mandatory for canceled flights, but carriers are not required to provide hotel accommodation or compensation for disruptions caused by federal actions.

Transportation experts warned that continued gridlock could push the system toward crisis.

“Every single day that this goes on, tomorrow is now less safe than today,” Daniels said.