FAA announces reduction in air traffic across 40 major markets

The secretary of transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration have announced that starting Friday, there will be a 10% reduction in air traffic at 40 U.S. airports as the government shutdown continues.Which 40 airports it will be was not announced on Wednesday. The Orlando International Airport said Wednesday that it had not been notified if it was one of the 40. MCO cutting 10% of its flights a day would impact about 100 flights. This all comes down to safety, federal officials said. The administrator for the FAA said right now, things are running safely, but said they are seeing a level of pressure on certain systems that can’t go unchecked and continue to be safe.The secretary of transportation and the administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration announced an unprecedented step they say will relieve some pressure. particularly on air traffic controllers, a 10% reduction in traffic at 40 airports. That’s something FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said he hadn’t seen in his 35-year aviation career. “We’re going to look for a radical reduction across these 40 markets over the next 48 hours,” Bedford said.If the government shutdown continues, the reduction in flights will start Friday morning. But the Secretary of Transportation didn’t announce which U.S. airports are included in this 40. They referred to them as “high volume traffic markets,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the nation’s 40 busiest airports. It’s places where they said they’re seeing pressure start to build as some air traffic controllers stop showing up to work while they aren’t being paid. “We are starting to see some evidence that fatigue is building in the system in ways that we feel we need to work towards relieving some of that pressure,” Bedford said. The Orlando International Airport said Wednesday that they “have not been notified that MCO is on the list of 40 major airports slated for a 10% reduction in flights. If MCO is identified as one of the airports to be affected, airport officials understand the priority is to maintain safety in the national air space system.”Since the federal government shutdown, MCO’s operations have been minimally impacted, with few exceptions, thanks to the federal airport partners who continue to come to work. We encourage passengers to contact their airlines for the most up-to-date flight information.”The FAA did issue a ground stop at MCO last week due to staffing issues. While the FAA administrator said things are running safely now, after looking at voluntary safety disclosure reports, Bedford said, “We are seeing pressures build in a way that we don’t feel will, if we allow it to go unchecked, will allow us to continue to tell the public that we operate the safest airline system in the world.”As the shutdown stretches on, the secretary said data will determine if we see even more restrictions or fewer. He said he’s concerned about disrupting people’s travel. “I’m concerned about that,” Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said. “But we had to have a gut check of what is our job? Is it to make sure there’s minimal delays or minimal cancellations? Or is, is our job to make sure we make the hard decisions to continue to keep the airspace safe? That is our job, is safety.”It’s not just commercial air travel that will be affected. They also announced Wednesday there will be restrictions on space launches, which Duffy said can “take a lot more attention from controllers.”

UNITED STATES —

The secretary of transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration have announced that starting Friday, there will be a 10% reduction in air traffic at 40 U.S. airports as the government shutdown continues.

Which 40 airports it will be was not announced on Wednesday. The Orlando International Airport said Wednesday that it had not been notified if it was one of the 40. MCO cutting 10% of its flights a day would impact about 100 flights.

This all comes down to safety, federal officials said. The administrator for the FAA said right now, things are running safely, but said they are seeing a level of pressure on certain systems that can’t go unchecked and continue to be safe.

The secretary of transportation and the administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration announced an unprecedented step they say will relieve some pressure. particularly on air traffic controllers, a 10% reduction in traffic at 40 airports.

That’s something FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said he hadn’t seen in his 35-year aviation career.

“We’re going to look for a radical reduction across these 40 markets over the next 48 hours,” Bedford said.

If the government shutdown continues, the reduction in flights will start Friday morning. But the Secretary of Transportation didn’t announce which U.S. airports are included in this 40.

They referred to them as “high volume traffic markets,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the nation’s 40 busiest airports. It’s places where they said they’re seeing pressure start to build as some air traffic controllers stop showing up to work while they aren’t being paid.

“We are starting to see some evidence that fatigue is building in the system in ways that we feel we need to work towards relieving some of that pressure,” Bedford said.

The Orlando International Airport said Wednesday that they “have not been notified that MCO is on the list of 40 major airports slated for a 10% reduction in flights. If MCO is identified as one of the airports to be affected, airport officials understand the priority is to maintain safety in the national air space system.

“Since the federal government shutdown, MCO’s operations have been minimally impacted, with few exceptions, thanks to the federal airport partners who continue to come to work. We encourage passengers to contact their airlines for the most up-to-date flight information.”

The FAA did issue a ground stop at MCO last week due to staffing issues.

While the FAA administrator said things are running safely now, after looking at voluntary safety disclosure reports, Bedford said, “We are seeing pressures build in a way that we don’t feel will, if we allow it to go unchecked, will allow us to continue to tell the public that we operate the safest airline system in the world.”

As the shutdown stretches on, the secretary said data will determine if we see even more restrictions or fewer. He said he’s concerned about disrupting people’s travel.

“I’m concerned about that,” Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said. “But we had to have a gut check of what is our job? Is it to make sure there’s minimal delays or minimal cancellations? Or is, is our job to make sure we make the hard decisions to continue to keep the airspace safe? That is our job, is safety.”

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Due to the ongoing government shutdown and nationwide air traffic control staffing shortages, the FAA has directed airlines to reduce flight schedules to maintain safe airspace operations starting Friday, Nov. 7.

We expect the vast majority of customers’ travel will proceed as…

— americanair (@AmericanAir) November 6, 2025

It’s not just commercial air travel that will be affected. They also announced Wednesday there will be restrictions on space launches, which Duffy said can “take a lot more attention from controllers.”