Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warns of cancellations and delays

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that air journey delays and cancellations will solely unfold because the nation barrels into the third day of government-mandated flight cuts on Sunday, Nov. 9.

“It’s only going to get worse,” Duffy mentioned in an interview with CNN. “I look to the two weeks before Thanksgiving, you’re going to see air travel be reduced to a trickle.”

“We have a number of people who want to get home for the holidays, they want to see their families, they want to celebrate this great American holiday,” Duffy added. “Listen, 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 unless this thing doesn’t open back up.”

Live updates: Duffy warns air journey will likely be decreased to ‘trickle,’ hundreds of flights canceled, delayed

The secretary mentioned lawmakers ought to open the federal authorities instantly for vacationers. He additionally cited the monetary pressure on federal air site visitors controllers, who’ve gone greater than a month with out pay.

Duffy and different aviation officers have mentioned the restrictions are essential to make sure security whereas air site visitors controllers are understaffed, a pressure exacerbated by the shutdown. He has additionally hit again at Democratic leaders, together with Sen. Chuck Schumer, who alleged the strikes are politically motivated.

“This is not political, this is strictly safety,” he informed CNN. “And I’m doing what I can in a mess that Democrats have put in my lap. And now I’m trying to keep the American people safe and keep airplanes flying.”

Officials initially mentioned vacationers would see a ten% discount in flights at 40 main airports final week. But the Transportation secretary has upped that quantity in latest days, saying Nov. 7 that restrictions might soar to fifteen% and even 20% of all scheduled flights.

The restrictions have already thrown journey into chaos, as scenes of huge traces and hours-long delays pop up at airports across the nation.

Over 1,000 flights had been canceled throughout the United States by the afternoon on Saturday, Nov. 8, in line with FlightAware data, and greater than 1,100 had already been canceled by the morning of Sunday, Nov. 9.

The chaos has added one other layer of strain for lawmakers over the shutdown, which is now the longest in American historical past.

Duffy additionally mentioned in an interview on Fox News on Nov. 9 that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has provided to ship air site visitors controllers “in reserve” to assist the state of affairs.

“If we might deploy them, and I don’t know that we are able to, we acquired to see what air areas they labored in, however he’ll step in and attempt to present some reduction within the skies,” Duffy said.

Kathryn Palmer is a politics reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @KathrynPlmr.