If the US government shutdown doesn’t end soon, air travel disruptions will be likely

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began reducing air traffic at 40 airports on Friday due to air traffic controller staffing issues resulting from the government shutdown.

As the government shutdown reached 40 days, more air traffic control workers refused to come to work because they were about to miss their second paycheck the next week; This led the FAA to make cuts to ensure there were no safety issues.

But if the shutdown continues or worsens, those flight disruptions will likely continue and could affect thousands of daily flights, according to Marc Scribner, a senior transportation policy analyst at the libertarian Reason Foundation think tank.

“This would impact thousands of flights per day and have the potential for tens of thousands of passengers to have their flights canceled, which is a major disruption,” Scribner told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

As of Sunday, there are enough Senate Democrats willing to support a revamped plan to reopen the government. But disruptions to air travel are at risk if the shutdown doesn’t end.

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“If the shutdown continues, I don’t think we would expect staffing levels to improve from where they are now,” Scribner said. “The situation will continue to worsen as controllers call in sick or perhaps resign. So I predict the situation will not improve as long as the shutdown continues.”

Scribner said travelers shouldn’t worry that the reduction in flights will mean a loss in safety, but they should be aware that their travel schedules will likely be affected as a result.

“They will not allow unsafe flights. So they will reduce flights to maintain the very high level of safety that is demanded, whatever that means in terms of staff capacity and workflow,” Scribner said. “Travelers shouldn’t worry about safety in this regard, but they should worry about itineraries that are likely to be affected.”

Richard Stern, director of the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget at the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, also said he expects that reduction to continue until the shutdown is over.

“Unfortunately, I think this has to continue until the shutdown is over because they’re using resources that they didn’t have until this funding again,” Stern told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

Even though the funding has expired, the government is entering uncharted territory by providing the minimum services it is required to provide, Stern said.

“Nobody knows exactly what the next steps will be,” Stern said.

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There will be outages in more than one location in major metropolitan areas with many airports, such as New York and Chicago, pictured. (Nam Y. Huh, File/The Associated Press)

It was not clear how long this reduction in flights is expected to continue. The Department of Transportation, which oversees the FAA, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The FAA said Friday that air traffic will be reduced by 10% in the coming days in 40 “high-volume” markets, including major cities such as Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Orlando, Miami and San Francisco, according to a list of airports obtained by The Associated Press. Major metropolitan areas with many airports, such as New York and Chicago, will experience multiple outages.

Reducing air traffic in response to the funding disruption resulting from the government shutdown is unprecedented, according to FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford.

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“I’m not aware of a situation in my 35-year history in the aviation market where we’ve taken these types of actions,” Bedford said at a news conference Wednesday. he said.

Air traffic controllers have been working without pay since the shutdown began Oct. 1 and are typically required to work six days a week in addition to mandatory overtime.

Bedford said the decision to reduce air traffic was taken to prevent a crisis from emerging due to increased staffing pressures and voluntary safety reports suggesting pilots and air traffic controllers were facing increasing levels of fatigue.

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“While early indications tell us we can take action today to prevent things from getting worse, we won’t be waiting for a safety issue to actually arise,” Bedford said. “The system is extremely safe today and will be extremely safe tomorrow. If pressures continue to increase even after taking these measures, we will go back and take additional measures.”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks alongside Rep. Tom Emmer and House Speaker Mike Johnson at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on October 23. (Eric Lee/Getty Images)

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.