U.S. airlines began canceling hundreds of flights Thursday due to the Federal Aviation Administration’s order to reduce traffic at the country’s busiest airports starting Friday because of the government shutdown.
More than 760 planned Friday flights were cut from airline schedules, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions. That number, already four times higher than Thursday’s daily total, was likely to keep climbing.
The 40 airports selected by the FAA span more than two dozen states and include hubs such as Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles and Charlotte, North Carolina, according to a list distributed to the airlines. In some metropolitan areas, including New York, Houston, Chicago and Washington, multiple airports will be impacted.
The FAA said in its official order published Thursday evening that the reductions will start at 4% on Friday and ramp up to 10% by Nov. 14. They are to be in effect between 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time and impact all commercial airlines.
The decision to reduce service at “high-volume” markets is meant to maintain travel safety as air traffic controllers exhibit signs of strain during the shutdown. It also comes as the Trump administration is ramping up pressure on Democrats in Congress to end the shutdown.
“With continued delays and unpredictable staffing shortages, which are driving fatigue, risk is further increasing, and the FAA is concerned with the system’s ability to maintain the current volume of operations,” the order reads.
Hours before the reductions went into place, airlines were scrambling to figure out where to cut. American Airlines said it reduced its schedule at the listed airports by 4% from Friday through Monday, about 220 cancellations each day, and would increase from there to the 10% target. The carrier said its international schedule was expected to remain untouched.
Passengers with plans for the weekend and beyond waited nervously to see if their flights would take off as scheduled. Some travelers began changing or canceling itineraries preemptively.