Overview
- Airlines have canceled thousands of flights since Friday, including 2,747 cancellations and 8,337 delays on Monday, with more than 1,100 cancellations reported early Tuesday, according to FlightAware.
- The FAA’s mandated cuts are scheduled to rise to 8% on Thursday and 10% on Friday as the agency works to ease pressure on understaffed control facilities.
- The FAA expanded restrictions to bar many business and private flights from a dozen airports already under commercial limits.
- The Senate passed a bill to reopen the government, but the House has yet to act, and FAA and DOT officials caution that normal operations could take days to weeks to recover even after funding is restored.
- Controller absences and accelerated retirements tied to missed paychecks are driving the shortfall, while President Donald Trump urged controllers to return and proposed $10,000 bonuses for those who worked through the shutdown.