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As many as 20% of U.S. flights might be reduce within the coming days if the shutdown continues, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy mentioned.
Travelers braced for flight cancellations and reductions as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy mentioned extra cuts − doubtlessly rising to fifteen% and even 20% of all scheduled flights − might be on the best way if the record-breaking authorities shutdown continues.
Scores of cancellations unfold throughout the nation as airways applied Duffy’s order to cut back site visitors. Southwest Airlines introduced it will cancel 100 flights on Friday.
Just weeks forward of the busy vacation journey season, flight operations had been diminished by 4% at 40 main U.S. airports beginning Friday, with the cuts regularly rising to 10% over per week, Duffy introduced.
Duffy mentioned the cuts had been a proactive security measure because the shutdown places “strain on the system from both pilots and air traffic controllers,” and controllers go with out pay.
Given the rising pressures on controllers, Duffy on Friday mentioned as many as 15% and even 20% of flights might be reduce within the coming days.
Here’s what to know because the cuts go into impact:
Reagan National Airport exterior Washington, DC, warned passengers to cancellations and delays in a social media put up.
“We are expecting significant delays and cancellations through this evening due to air traffic reductions,” the airport posted on X. “Customers with flight reservations are urged to monitor their flight status closely with their airline.”
Reagan National sees a mean of 70,000 passengers a day.
How the shutdown is affecting flight security
In a Nov. 7 interview with Breitbart News, Duffy mentioned that, behind the scenes, there have been warning indicators of an air site visitors management system underneath rising stress.
Fewer controllers coming to work. Planes getting uncomfortably shut within the air and on the bottom. Pilot complaints about air site visitors tower response instances.
Air site visitors controllers acquired one partial paycheck final month, he mentioned, then a “flat zero” paycheck two weeks later. If the shutdown continues, subsequent week’s paycheck will likely be zero once more.
That has put huge monetary stress on particularly the youthful controllers, who might not have the financial savings wanted to maintain up with hire, payments or automobile funds, Duffy mentioned.
“Some have made the decision to not come to work and to take a second job,” he mentioned. “That has put a lot of pressure on the air traffic control system.”
Travelers fearful about flights as FAA proclaims reductions
The FAA will scale back flights at 40 main airports by 10% to offset air site visitors controller shortages throughout the federal government shutdown.
The Federal Aviation Administration security group flagged one other stress issue, Duffy mentioned: a “loss of separation” within the air and on the bottom between planes. The variety of “incursions” within the protected spacing between plane has risen, he mentioned.
At the identical time, the FAA has fielded an rising variety of complaints from pilots who’re reporting that particular person air site visitors controllers have been much less responsive than ordinary or seem extra careworn, Duffy mentioned.
“We looked at the data, and the numbers are going in the wrong direction,” he mentioned.
–Lauren Villagran
Carey Driscoll discovered herself in Indianapolis unexpectedly Friday morning whereas attempting to make it house to Northern Kentucky, simply exterior Cincinnati.
“I shouldn’t be here,” she informed IndyStar, a part of the USA TODAY Network.
When Driscoll’s Chicago to Cincinnati flight of her two-leg journey house from Fort Lauderdale was canceled by American Airlines, the previous journey advisor savvily discovered a flight out of Miami to Indianapolis.
“I was worried I was going to have to spend 12 hours in Chicago-O’Hare and then maybe get home,” she mentioned. “So I changed it.”
After touchdown in Indianapolis, Driscoll labored on a laptop computer, ready for her mother-in-law to select her as much as begin the two-hour journey again to Northern Kentucky.
–Alysa Guffey, Indianapolis Star
Southwest Airlines mentioned it was slicing greater than 100 flights on Friday with dozens extra being canceled on Saturday as a result of air site visitors restrictions issued through the ongoing federal authorities shutdown.
The airline slashed about 120 flights throughout 34 airports on Friday, Southwest launched in an announcement to USA TODAY.
The low-cost, Dallas-based provider mentioned it expects cancellations to affect lower than 100 flights on Saturday, and that “the vast majority” of consumers’ flights “will not be disrupted.”
–Natalie Neysa Alund and James Powel
Airlines won’t merely cancel 10% of flights at random. They will seemingly goal routes primarily based on income, passenger rebooking choices, and plane and crew routing, defined Ahmed Abdelghany, affiliate dean for analysis on the David B. O’Maley College of Business in Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
“All these airlines have shareholders and their job as managers is to maximize revenue and margin and profit to the airline sales and keep your airline stock up,” Michael Taylor, senior journey advisor at JD Power informed USA TODAY. “So they’re going to start first at looking − if you want 10% reduction in number of aircraft, well then we will cut those markets out that we’re not going to make the most money.”
Both Abdelghany and Taylor agree that airways have a myriad of things to contemplate like crew and plane placement, however income is a vital a part of the equation. International flights, for probably the most half, are increased ticket objects for airways.
“It won’t seem to travelers that there’s any rhyme or reason to it at all. It’ll seem random, but what’s really driving it is someone in corporate headquarters saying, ‘OK, you want the number of aircraft lowered? Fine. I’ve got to keep my revenue high. I’m going to take out the ones I don’t make any money on. It’s as simple as that,’” Taylor added.
–Josh Rivera
Other than the hordes of television cameras and reporters milling about − and a visit from Transportation Secretary Duffy − travel at Reagan National Airport outside Washington, DC, chugged on as normal Friday morning.
The website Flight Aware listed 35 cancellations at the airport Friday. But as of 10:30 a.m., electronic displays by airport check-in counters showed only four cancelled morning and early afternoon flights. The cancellations were spread across four different airline and destinations.
Most vacationers USA TODAY spoke to on the airport mentioned they didn’t discover something out of the standard. TSA traces moved swiftly and airport personnel gave the impression to be dealing with the movement of Friday site visitors.
Vanita Todker, 39, sat exterior an airport Starbucks after arriving from Los Angeles. She was on the town with the Prakriti Dance Company for a weekend efficiency on the Jewish Community Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
Asked about whether or not she skilled any journey disruptions, Todker mentioned “LA traffic.”
Calvin Tenney, 22, landed in DC from Detroit, Michigan to have fun a relations birthday. Others flying in from San Diego for the celebrations had been impacted by the FAA cuts and needed to rebook their flights to make it in time.
–-Karissa Waddick
National Air Traffic Controllers Association President Nick Daniels mentioned monetary issues are mounting for the employees he represents, and known as on elected leaders to “quit using us as the political pawn and waiting to see how long we can last.”
Daniels told CNN in a Nov. 7 interview said the air traffic control system was “fragile” even before the shutdown began, and is now experiencing additional stress. Controllers have to be “good” at work, and monetary issues make it more durable to pay attention, he mentioned.
“We are always being used as a political pawn during a government shutdown,” Daniels mentioned. “We are the rope in a tug of war game.”
–-Zac Anderson
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has a message for Democrats criticizing his transfer to chop flights: “Open the damn government.”
Duffy, in a Friday interview with Breitbart News Network, mentioned he’s heard criticism that the choice to chop flights is political, because the Trump administration spars with Democrats concerning the authorities shutdown.
Duffy denied any political motivation. At the identical time, he inspired vacationers offended about flight disruptions to interact with political leaders to finish the shutdown.
“I would say, look at the votes in the Senate and see who voted to open the government and who voted to shut it down, and then I’d call those senators who voted to shut it down,” Duffy said. “That’s where the blame lies.”
−Zac Anderson
At Denver International Airport, the departures board showed a handful of canceled flights for the day, mostly to smaller destinations like nearby Colorado Springs or Lincoln, Nebraska.
High school friends and Minnesota natives Cecelia Wilde, Lara Freeburg and Kinsey Greene reunited at the airport for a weekend trip visiting Greene at the University of Colorado-Boulder.
Wilde said her Sun Country flight from Minnesota went smoothly, as did Freeburg’s United flight from Bozeman, Montana. Both travelers said their airlines have communicated clearly about the potential for flight problems, and they were more focused on the fun weekend ahead.
“If I’m stuck here for a little while, oh well,” said Freeburg, 21, a senior at Montana State.
Greene said the only flight disruption she’s heard of was for one of her roommates, whose flight to Detroit was canceled but immediately rebooked by United.
“They just sent her a text saying it was canceled but it was rebooked and no further actions was needed,” Greene said. “So that’s good.”
In a statement, United officials said about half of all affected customers have been automatically rebooked on flights, leaving within four hours of their original departure time.
−Trevor Hughes
The worries began for Scott Wolf and Madeleine Nicholson on Thursday when they first learned about the cuts to airport staffing and, of course, Wolf’s father began texting.
“Odds getting a little better,” read a text message from “dad” Wolf showed USA TODAY at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on Friday.
Wolf is the oldest of four siblings and the last of his sisters is getting married Saturday in New York.
“We can’t miss that,” said Wolf, 34. “We’re ready to drive if it’s canceled.”
“He’s giving a speech, we’re both walking in the wedding,” said Nicholson, 31, “And I really don’t want to drive to New York.”
O’Hare’s Terminal 3 appeared calm at about 9:30 and the married couple felt hopeful they would arrive in time for the rehearsal dinner.
They’re set to return to Chicago on Sunday and hope the trip will go smoothly.
“Why don’t we end it today, that way we can get home on time,” said Wolf said about the government shutdown.
Otherwise, said Nicholson, “Thanksgiving’s going to be a slaughter.”
−Michael Loria
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Breitbart News if the shutdown continues, flights will be cut further in the coming days.
“The response is to take pressure out of the system,” Duffy said. “I’m trying to minimize the risk through this government shutdown.”
Some air traffic controllers have taken second jobs to make ends meet, as they go more than a month without a paycheck. Given the pressures on controllers, Duffy said as much as 15% of flights could be cut in the coming days if the shutdown continues.
−Lauren Villagran
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CBS News that federal officials made the decision to cut flights based on data about air traffic controllers that was “concerning.”
Pressed during the Nov. 7 interview to reveal more about the data that sparked concerns, Duffy said he would share more about it with Congress and the airlines “later.”
“But right now it’s about making the right decisions at the right time to keep people safe,” Duffy said, adding later that his biggest safety concern is “controller fatigue” amid the ongoing government shutdown, which has required controllers to work without pay.
Rep. Rick Larsen, the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said in a statement this week that the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to cut 10% of flights at 40 airports starting Nov. 7 is “a dramatic and unprecedented step that demands more transparency.””The FAA should instantly share any security danger evaluation and associated knowledge that this resolution relies on with Congress,” Larsen wrote.
Asked about these feedback, Duffy mentioned “if people want to question us, I would throw it back at them. Open up the government.”
−Zac Anderson
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stopped by Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport exterior of Washington, DC, Friday morning to speak with vacationers and TSA employees.Some vacationers yelled at Duffy as he exited the airport, telling him to get folks again to work and push more durable for an finish to the federal government shutdown.Duffy known as on Democrats to finish the shutdown and defended the choice to chop flights.“We’ve relied on the experts at the FAA on the safety team to give us this advice,” he mentioned. “It’s the right decision.”
−Karissa Waddick
At least three main carriers − United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines − have mentioned worldwide flights won’t be diminished, however that doesn’t imply these vacationers are off scot-free.
Many vacationers need to make home connections earlier than or after long-haul flights, and aviation specialists have informed USA TODAY connecting passengers might face fewer choices and longer layovers amid Federal Aviation Administration-directed cuts.
−Eve Chen
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Brian Bedford mentioned in an announcement that airways can be required to situation full refunds however wouldn’t be required to cowl secondary prices − the usual process when flight cancellations should not the provider’s fault.
Federal guidelines entitle airline passengers to a full refund if their flight is canceled or considerably delayed they usually select to not rebook.
Some airways are additionally providing waivers that permit vacationers to alter their flights with out paying change charges or fare variations. Major carriers, together with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines, have waivers in place associated to the flight discount.
‒N’dea Yancey-Bragg
It’s not simply vacationers on the 40 airports on the checklist that would see points.
“There’s going to be extensive disruption across the entire nation’s air transportation system,” mentioned Henry Harteveldt, and airline trade analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group, an unbiased journey analytics agency. And the implications might last more than the shutdown.
Passengers on connecting flights and crew members who would in any other case have continued on to different flights can even really feel the ripple impact, specialists informed USA TODAY.
“For an airline to be told by the government they’ve got 36 or so hours to start dismembering their carefully built flight schedules doesn’t give airlines a lot of time,” Harteveldt mentioned.
Read extra on what to anticipate.
‒Eve Chen
Airlines have begun releasing their deliberate cancellations for the primary few days of operations reductions.
United, Delta, Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines on Thursday started canceling restricted numbers of Friday flights in anticipation of the discount plans. Alaska mentioned it was working to make sure “smaller and remote communities … reliant on air travel” can be protected and mentioned in an announcement posted on X that the majority cancellations can be on routes with a better frequency of flights, “allowing most guests to be reaccommodated with as little disruption as possible.”
Delta Airlines mentioned it will cancel 170 flights on Friday. The airline often operates about 5,000 flights per day, it mentioned.
United mentioned it will reduce 4% of Friday’s flights, which might whole fewer than 200 cancellations nationwide because it operates about 4,500 flights every day. It has additionally launched its schedules for Saturday and Sunday and urged vacationers to test their flight statuses on-line or via its app. Even in case your flight is not canceled, you may get a refund in your journey for those who do not need to fly, the corporate mentioned.
Travelers shouldn’t wait till they’re already on the airport to study whether or not they’re affected. The most necessary step, specialists say, is to watch your flight early and sometimes.
Start by downloading your airline’s cell app and turning on push and textual content notifications. Economist Hayley Berg from the journey reserving firm Hopper says vacationers ought to be checking days prematurely – not simply the night time earlier than.
“If you have a flight scheduled or you’re scheduling one, sign up for text message notifications or sign up for alerts from the airline on the app on your phone,” Berg mentioned. “A couple of days before your flight, just check in. Make sure that there haven’t been any changes that haven’t been communicated to you yet.”
Many airways additionally provide a “Where’s My Plane?” characteristic of their apps. This helps you to see whether or not the plane scheduled to function your flight has arrived, is delayed en route, or hasn’t departed but from its earlier airport – an early sign of hassle.
−Josh Rivera
In addition to a ten% discount in flights throughout 40 of the busiest airports, commercial space launches can even be given a curfew as of Monday, Nov 10.
“It is hereby ordered that, beginning at 6:00 a.m. EST on November 10, 2025, and until this Order is cancelled, Commercial space launches and reentries will only be permitted between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. local time,” a Nov. 6 emergency order from the FAA states.
This comes at a time when Florida is nearing a record launch year. Some launches, resembling Blue Origin’s launch of the NASA ESCAPADE mission set for Sunday or a mission to the ISS, should go on time to ship the spacecraft on the right trajectory.
It stays to be seen how it will affect upcoming house launches.
−Brooke Edwards, Florida Today
The FAA has chosen the next airports for the gradual enhance in cancellations:
- ANC – Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport
- ATL – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
- BOS – Boston Logan International Airport
- BWI – Baltimore/Washington International Airport
- CLT – Charlotte Douglas International Airport
- CVG – Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
- DAL – Dallas Love Field
- DCA – Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
- DEN – Denver International Airport
- DFW – Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
- DTW – Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
- EWR – Newark Liberty International Airport
- FLL – Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport
- HNL – Honolulu International Airport
- HOU – William P. Hobby Airport
- IAD – Washington Dulles International Airport
- IAH – George Bush Houston Intercontinental Airport
- IND – Indianapolis International Airport
- JFK – New York John F. Kennedy International Airport
- LAS – Las Vegas McCarran International Airport
- LAX – Los Angeles International Airport
- LGA – New York LaGuardia Airport
- MCO – Orlando International Airport
- MDW – Chicago Midway International Airport
- MEM – Memphis International Airport
- MIA – Miami International Airport
- MSP – Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport
- OAK – Oakland International Airport
- ONT – Ontario International Airport
- ORD – Chicago O’Hare International Airport
- PDX – Portland International Airport
- PHL – Philadelphia International Airport
- PHX – Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
- SAN – San Diego International Airport
- SDF – Louisville International Airport
- SEA – Seattle–Tacoma International Airport
- SFO – San Francisco International Airport
- SLC – Salt Lake City International Airport
- TEB – Teterboro Airport
- TPA – Tampa International Airport
If your flight is canceled, Scott Keyes, founding father of Going, really useful utilizing the airways’ cell app to rebook as quickly as attainable. If passengers want to talk with somebody by cellphone, Keyes steered calling one of many provider’s worldwide traces.
“The best thing travelers can do is to be as proactive as possible switching to a new flight,” Keyes told USA TODAY. “When a flight gets canceled, all of a sudden hundreds of passengers need new itineraries. There may only be a handful of seats left on the best flights, and it’s a first-come, first-(served) endeavor.”
If your flight is canceled for any reason, including a shortage of air traffic controllers, you’re entitled to a full refund if you choose not to fly on alternative itineraries offered by your airline. The same goes for “significant” delays or changes.
Contributing: Nathan Diller, Kathryn Palmer and Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY
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