WASHINGTON — Airports in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York are among the 40 major hubs that will see flights reduced 10% starting Friday in response to air traffic controller staffing issues amid the federal government shutdown, according to a list distributed to airlines and obtained by The Associated Press.
About 13,000 controllers have been required to work without pay during the shutdown, now in its 37th day.
What You Need To Know
Chicago, Los Angeles and New York are among the 40 major airports that will see flights reduced 10% starting Friday, following the Federal Aviation Administration’s announcement that air traffic controllers are showing signs of fatigue
About 13,000 controllers have been required to work without pay during the government shutdown, now in its 37th day.
The FAA list includes many of the airports that have seen significant delays and cancellations in recent weeks, including Ronald Reagan Washington National, Newark Liberty International and JFK International airports
Affected airlines say they are trying to minimize the impacts on travelers
“We are assessing the risk in the airspace,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote on X on Thursday morning. “Delays and cancellations will be based on which controllers are coming to work. Reducing 10% of flight volume will reduce the pressure on controllers, while prioritizing safety, and getting more flights out on time.”
The FAA list includes many of the airports that have seen significant delays and cancellations in recent weeks, including Ronald Reagan Washington National, Newark Liberty International and New York’s John F. Kennedy International.
The affected airports covering more than two dozen states also include the busiest ones across the U.S. — including Atlanta, Denver, Orlando, Miami and San Francisco. Multiple airports in the Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York and Washington metro areas will be impacted.
ABC News reported Boston Logan International, Charlotte Douglass International, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County, Honolulu International, Louisville International and Tampa International are among other airports on the list.
According to the FAA, about 50% of major air traffic control facilities are facing staffing shortages because of a federal government shutdown, as workers who are forced to do their jobs without pay call in sick.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said Wednesday the FAA has been looking at the health of the national airspace on an hourly basis.
“For the most part, we’re happy to report that it has been running as efficiently today in terms of its safety metrics as it was prior to the shutdown,” he said. “But as we dig deeper into the data, what we find are issues of fatigue that our flight controllers are experiencing.”
Bedford said voluntary safety disclosure reports from commercial air pilots have allowed the agency to see which markets are experiencing “pressures build in a way that we don’t feel 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.”
Affected airlines say they are trying to minimize the impacts on travelers. United Airlines said Wednesday night it would focus its cuts on regional routes that use smaller planes.
American Airlines posted on X on Thursday morning that all of its flights Thursday will operate as planned.
“We expect the vast majority of our customers’ travel will be unaffected, and long-haul international travel will remain as scheduled,” it said.
The airlines said customers whose flights are canceled for any reason will be able to change their flight or request a refund without penalty.
Passengers with booked flights are expected to be notified about cancellations Thursday. The AAA recommends that travelers download their airline’s app and turn on notifications.
“There will be flight disruptions,” Duffy wrote in a separate post on X on Thursday morning. “@USDOT will mitigate the safety side. But I would still be booking your flights. We are just going to have to work together to navigate this situation that the Democrats are putting the American people through.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.