Overview
- The Department of Transportation and FAA started mandatory schedule reductions on November 7 with an initial 4% cut, ramping to 10% by November 14.
- The FAA says the measures are intended to ease controller workload to reduce safety risk caused by staffing strains.
- FlightAware reported more than 1,000 cancellations by the evening of November 7 as the changes took effect.
- Only domestic scheduled flights are targeted, with international services excluded from the reductions.
- Roughly 13,000 air traffic controllers and about 50,000 TSA employees are working without pay, raising concerns about disruptions as the Thanksgiving travel period approaches.