rki.news
Washington, November 10 – The ongoing U.S. federal government shutdown, now in its 40th day, has severely disrupted national air travel, with over 2,000 flights canceled and 8,000 delayed across the country, according to FlightAware.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s flight reduction policy, introduced Friday, has sharply increased cancellations—from 202 on Thursday to more than 1,500 by Saturday. The shortage of air traffic controllers, many of whom are on unpaid leave, has forced others to work overtime to maintain minimal operations.
To ease staffing pressures, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the FAA have announced a 10 percent reduction in flight capacity at 40 major airports nationwide. Officials warned the situation could worsen ahead of the busy Thanksgiving travel period.
“It’s only going to get worse,” said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, predicting that air travel could “be reduced to a trickle” in coming weeks.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett cautioned that continued disruptions could harm the broader economy, noting that limited holiday travel “could result in a negative quarter” for the final months of the year.