Starting Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration has reduced flights at 40 major airports nationwide due to staffing shortages. Two of those airports are in South Florida, including Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport.At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, passengers told WPBF 25 News they were anxious about whether their travel plans would be disrupted.“It was a big worry for me that some of the flights might be shut down. I might be stranded,” one traveler said.The flight cuts are also affecting the other two major commercial airports in the state: Orlando International and Tampa International. The reductions are expected to increase delays and cancellations, especially during high-volume travel periods.Travelers at Fort Lauderdale said they were refreshing their phone screens nonstop, trying to stay ahead of any changes.“When we saw the notices on Thursday that they were going to start cutting back, we all saw everybody on our cruise ship start looking at their itineraries,” a traveler said. “Nervous getting on the flight. Double-checking, triple-checking through the night. Making sure nothing changed.”According to FlightAware, both Fort Lauderdale and Miami experienced dozens of cancellations Monday, with similar impacts reported in Orlando and Tampa. Palm Beach International Airport is not part of the FAA’s scheduled reductions and is not expected to see direct impacts.Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. —

Starting Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration has reduced flights at 40 major airports nationwide due to staffing shortages.

Two of those airports are in South Florida, including Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport.

At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, passengers told WPBF 25 News they were anxious about whether their travel plans would be disrupted.

“It was a big worry for me that some of the flights might be shut down. I might be stranded,” one traveler said.

The flight cuts are also affecting the other two major commercial airports in the state: Orlando International and Tampa International. The reductions are expected to increase delays and cancellations, especially during high-volume travel periods.

Travelers at Fort Lauderdale said they were refreshing their phone screens nonstop, trying to stay ahead of any changes.

“When we saw the notices on Thursday that they were going to start cutting back, we all saw everybody on our cruise ship start looking at their itineraries,” a traveler said. “Nervous getting on the flight. Double-checking, triple-checking through the night. Making sure nothing changed.”

According to FlightAware, both Fort Lauderdale and Miami experienced dozens of cancellations Monday, with similar impacts reported in Orlando and Tampa.

Palm Beach International Airport is not part of the FAA’s scheduled reductions and is not expected to see direct impacts.

Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25

Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.