Overview
- Flight trackers reported more than 1,500 cancellations Saturday and at least 1,375 by late Sunday morning, with thousands of delays concentrated in New York, Chicago and Atlanta.
- The FAA ordered staged reductions of commercial flights from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, starting at 4%, rising to 6% on Tuesday and 10% by Nov. 14, and said deeper cuts are possible.
- Major hubs including JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare, Los Angeles and San Francisco are seeing cascading delays, with temporary ground stops reported at Chicago and JFK.
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned cuts could reach 20% and said travel in the two weeks before Thanksgiving could be reduced to a trickle if controllers continue working without pay.
- Airlines are extending flexible policies, with United offering refunds even on basic economy, and American, Delta, Southwest and Alaska allowing fee-free changes or refunds on affected trips.