More than 1,000 flights cancelled as US air traffic cuts enter second day

More than 1,000 flights to, from or within the United States were canceled on Saturday after airlines were told to cut traffic during this week’s federal government shutdown.

Nearly 4,000 flights were also delayed, with more than 7,000 delayed Friday, according to flight tracker FlightAware.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced earlier in the week that it would reduce air travel capacity by up to 10% at the nation’s 40 busiest airports as air traffic controllers working without pay during the shutdown reported fatigue.

Republicans and Democrats are divided on how to end the impasse in Congress as the shutdown that began Oct. 1 continues.

Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey had some of the longest wait times. According to the FAA, as of Saturday afternoon, there was an average delay of more than four hours for arrivals at the airport, while there was an average delay of 1.5 hours for departures from the airport.

According to FlightAware, the airports with the most cancellations on Saturday, both to and from the region, were Charlotte/Douglas International, Newark Liberty International and Chicago O’Hare International.

Flights to John F Kennedy International, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International and La Guardia were delayed by nearly three hours, more than 2.5 hours and nearly an hour, respectively, the FAA reported Saturday afternoon.

With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching on November 27, one of the busiest travel seasons of the year is experienced in the USA.

It’s not just commercial flights that are affected. Restrictions on private jets also exist, Minister Duffy said in a post on X on Saturday.

“We have reduced volumes at high-traffic airports, allowing private jets to use smaller airports or airports instead, so busy controllers can focus on commercial aviation,” Duffy wrote. “That’s fair.”

Things will likely get worse in the coming days as the FAA increases the percentage of canceled flights.

On Thursday, the agency announced that flight cuts would occur gradually, starting with 4% of flights on Friday, rising to 6% on November 11, 8% on November 13, and a full 10% on November 14.

The FAA said the outages were necessary to ensure safety because air traffic controllers were overworked during the shutdown.

Unions say controllers, as essential workers, must continue to work without pay, and as a result, many have fallen ill or been put on second jobs to meet their needs.

The controllers are just a few of the 1.4 million federal employees who are either working without pay or forced to work during the shutdown.

Saturday marked the 39th day of the longest shutdown in history; Republicans and Democrats still haven’t agreed on a funding decision to reopen the government.

Senators were in Washington over the weekend for bipartisan talks aimed at ending the shutdown.

Another factor affecting air travel is that many of the Transportation Security Agency’s (TSA) 64,000 agents remain unpaid while the shutdown continues.

During the previous government quarantine under US President Donald Trump in 2018, it was revealed that up to 10% of TSA personnel chose to stay home rather than work without pay.