FAA to Cut Flights by 10% at 40 of the Busiest US Airports

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will cut air traffic by at least 10% at some of the nation’s busiest airports to maintain safety amid the longest government shutdown in history.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford announced Wednesday evening that the agency would cut flights at 40 “high-volume markets” starting Friday, should the shutdown continue. These markets include major airports in Dallas, Newark, and Phoenix, and will impact nearly 4,000 flights a day.

While the cuts will eventually get up to 10%, Reuters reported on Thursday morning, citing industry sources, that it will start at about 4% on Friday, will go up to 5% on Saturday, 6% on Sunday, and then rise to 10% next week.

Bedford, speaking Wednesday, said that early indicators told the FAA “we can take action today to prevent things from deteriorating.”

The FAA has not formally cut flights yet, but the government shutdown has already caused chaos at many of the country’s airports. The chaos has primarily involved delays, and some cancellations, due to ground stops the FAA has had to issue to keep understaffed air traffic controller (ATC) teams from getting overwhelmed. As the shutdown has progressed, more ATCs have been calling out sick, many opting to take second jobs instead of working without pay for the FAA.

Now, flights will officially be curtailed starting Friday. Duffy and Bedford did not unveil how, exactly, that 10% of flights would be chosen, but they did say they plan to meet with airlines ahead of Friday to develop a joint plan.

The industry quickly reacted to the news, with the U.S. Travel Association releasing a statement calling the flight reduction an inevitable consequence of the ongoing crisis, and being critical of Congress for keeping the government shut.

President and CEO Geoff Freeman reinforced that while the decision was “necessary to keep our skies safe,” it would “inevitably affect the travel experience, leading to fewer flights, longer delays, and more disruptions for travelers.” He went on to argue that the shutdown is putting “unnecessary strain on the system,” asserting that the responsibility for the disruption and damage to confidence in U.S. air travel “rests squarely at the feet of Congress.”

United Says Long-Haul Flights Will Not Be Impacted by Cuts

United CEO Scott Kirby sent a message to employees Wednesday following the FAA announcement, telling the team that the airline “will continue to make rolling updates to our schedule” as the government shutdown continues.

Kirby also said that United’s long-haul international flights and its hub-to-hub flying will not be impacted by the FAA cuts. He explained, “That’s important to maintain the integrity of our network, give impacted customers as many options as possible to resume their trip, and sustain our crew pairing systems.”

“Instead, we will focus our schedule reductions on regional flying and domestic mainline flights that do not travel between our hubs,” he added.

Delta Air Lines Says It Is ‘Complying’ with FAA

Like United, Delta said on Thursday that it is working with the FAA to manage its schedule to meet the cuts needed. It said that the “vast majority” of its flights will operate as scheduled, including all long-haul flights.

It has issued a waiver for its flyers who are impacted by the cuts, allowing flexible rebooking without penalty on all fares, including basic economy.

What Could Be the Impact of the Shutdown on Thanksgiving Travel?

Maybe most concerning for the travel industry is that the cuts come as it is barreling towards the busiest travel period of the year, the Thanksgiving Holiday week.

Last year, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) sometimes saw more than 3 million passengers per day travel through security checkpoints in the U.S. during the Thanksgiving holiday week. A 10% reduction in flights means that more than 300,000 passengers per day will be impacted should the shutdown remain through the end of the month.

That figure also does not account for a potentially larger reduction in flights, which remains a very real possibility as air traffic controller (ATC) staff continue to be stretched further.