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FAA Orders Flight Cuts at 40 Major Airports as Shutdown Triggers More Than 800 Cancellations

The emergency curbs aim to ease pressure on unpaid air traffic controllers after weeks of staffing strain.

Overview

  • The FAA mandated a staged reduction in scheduled flights starting with about 4% today and rising to 10% on November 14 if the shutdown persists.
  • Flight trackers reported a sharp jump in disruptions, with FlightAware counting 818 cancellations by early morning and Cirium estimating 748 U.S. departures canceled.
  • Major carriers trimmed schedules, including American Airlines with 221 cancellations, United with 184, Delta with 173, and Southwest with 73, with SkyWest cutting 172 regional flights.
  • The order covers 40 busy hubs such as New York, Los Angeles, Washington, Miami, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, and Dallas, while international routes were largely unaffected on the first day.
  • Airlines were directed to offer full refunds for canceled trips as the longest federal shutdown in U.S. history leaves controllers working without pay and drives higher sick-call rates.