FAA flight cancellations to worsen in government shutdown

Commercial air travel in the U.S. will be reduced to “a trickle” ahead of Thanksgiving as a result of rising air traffic control staffing problems said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as hundreds of thousands of travelers’ plans were upended by disruptions this weekend.

The Trump administration last week ordered airlines to cut 4% of domestic flights at 40 major U.S. airports due to staffing shortages starting last Friday. That number is set to rise to 10% next Friday if the shutdown doesn’t end. Government officials blamed “increased reports of strain on the system from both pilots and air traffic controllers” in large part due to the government shutdown — now the longest in U.S. history.

Air traffic controller shortages snarled travel at major airports coast-to-coast over the weekend, in addition to the hundreds of flights airlines had already canceled under the order. So far this weekend, 16,440 U.S. flights were delayed and 3,788 were canceled, according to FlightAware. More than 2,500 were canceled on Sunday.

In a sign of how the problems were growing more severe Sunday ranked the 11th worst for canceled U.S. flights since Jan. 1, 2024, while Friday’s levels ranked 72nd, according to tallies from aviation data firm Cirium.

Airlines for America, an industry group that represents the largest U.S. airlines, said 71% of the delay time on Saturday was due to air traffic staffing shortfalls.

The country’s airlines will have to cut hundreds more flights in the week ahead if Congress can’t come to a swift solution to end the shutdown.

Air traffic controllers, along with airport security screeners, are among those required to work during the shutdown without receiving their regular paychecks. Federal workers will miss their second full paycheck on Monday, according to their union. Some controllers have taken second jobs to make ends meet, union officials have said.

The shutdown has again thrust air traffic controllers, already in short supply before lawmakers’ impasse, into the spotlight. The U.S. government shutdown that lasted between late 2018 and early 2019, then the longest on record, ended hours after air traffic controller shortages snarled travel in the Northeast, compared with the much longer-lasting problems now.

On Sunday, Duffy warned air travel in the run-up to Thanksgiving is “only going to get worse” if the shutdown drags on.

“The two weeks before Thanksgiving, you’re going to see air travel be reduced to a trickle,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Travel around Thanksgiving Day — this year taking place on Nov. 27 — is typically among the busiest of the year as millions of people head home for the holidays.

“Many of them are not going to be able to get on an airplane, because there are not going to be that many flights that fly if this thing doesn’t open back up,” he said.

Airlines cautioned travelers to expect delays and urged lawmakers to end the shutdown.

“Due to the prolonged government shutdown and nationwide air traffic control staffing shortages, we, like most airlines, are experiencing additional and widespread delays and cancellations across the country today despite the advanced cancellations that the FAA required us to make,” American Airlines said in a notice to customers Saturday. “We, again, urge leaders in Washington, D.C., to reach an immediate resolution to end the shutdown.”

Pre-planned cuts from the order were on par with a day of severe thunderstorms, which can be disruptive, though they’re routine, and major airlines said many passengers were booked on other flights.

Under the FAA’s order, the flight cuts, first set at 4% of flights will increase to 6% of schedules, 8% by Thursday and 10% next Friday. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Fox News on Friday that cuts could eventually reach up to 20% of schedules, although he didn’t elaborate. Airlines weren’t required to cut international flights.

The disruptions are occurring at a generally low travel season, but the key Thanksgiving holiday weekend is less than three weeks away. The impact for airlines could quadruple given how fares during that high-demand period spike, Seaport Research Partners airline analyst Daniel McKenzie said in a note on Friday.

Airlines this week waived date-change fees for travelers on affected flights and noted they can also request a refund.

Airline executives stated that many customers were being rebooked on alternative flights, while last-minute changes sent others scrambling for other arrangements. Hertz, for example, stated on Thursday that, when the FAA made its flight-cut announcement, one-way car rentals increased by 20% over the same two-day period a year earlier.

Delays rose throughout the weekend as air traffic control staffing shortages prompted delays at major airports including Delta Air Lines hub Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, United Airlines hubs Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, and at  Charlotte Douglas International Airport, a busy American hub, as well as Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

Here are the airports where the FAA and DOT cuts apply: