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U.S. Transportation Chief Warns Thanksgiving Travel at Risk as Shutdown Drains Controller Staffing

Officials are preparing additional flight reductions following a surge in cancellations.

Overview

  • Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said only "very few" unpaid air traffic controllers are reporting to work, which will limit departures and landings.
  • More than 1,000 flights per day have been canceled since Friday, and on Sunday FlightAware logged over 2,000 cancellations and more than 8,000 delays nationwide.
  • The government plans to further curtail flights in the coming days to reduce workload on remaining controllers and manage safety risks.
  • The federal shutdown began on October 1 after Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on a stopgap budget, leaving hundreds of thousands of workers unpaid and services scaled back.
  • A rare Sunday Senate session included a test vote that lawmakers said could point toward a short-term funding deal, though any agreement remains uncertain and would still require House approval.