U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy holds a press convention on the affect of the federal government shutdown on air journey, at LaGuardia Airport within the Queens borough of New York Metropolis, U.S., October 28, 2025.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
Industrial air journey within the U.S. shall be diminished to “a trickle” forward of the Thanksgiving vacation because of rising air visitors management staffing shortages, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy mentioned Sunday.
The Trump administration ordered airways to chop the variety of flights by 10% at 40 main airports because of staffing shortages, beginning Friday morning. Officers blamed “elevated stories of pressure on the system from each pilots and air visitors controllers” largely because of the authorities shutdown — now the longest in U.S. historical past.
By Saturday, practically 7,000 U.S. flights have been delayed and greater than 2,000 have been canceled.
Airways for America, an business group that represents the biggest U.S. airways mentioned 71% of the delay-time on Saturday was because of air visitors staffing shortfalls.
The nation’s airways should lower lots of extra flights within the week forward if Congress cannot come to a swift answer to finish the shutdown. Late Friday, Senate Republicans rejected a Democrat proposal to reopen the federal government.
On Sunday, Duffy warned air journey within the run-up to the Thanksgiving vacation is “solely going to worsen” if the shutdown drags on.
“The 2 weeks earlier than Thanksgiving, you are going to see air journey be diminished to a trickle,” he mentioned on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Journey round Thanksgiving Day — this yr happening on Nov. 27 — is often among the many heaviest of the yr as hundreds of thousands of individuals head house for the vacations.
“Lots of them usually are not going to have the ability to get on an airplane, as a result of there usually are not going to be that many flights that fly if this factor would not open again up,” he mentioned.
Airways warned vacationers to anticipate delays and urged lawmakers to finish the shutdown.
“Because of the extended authorities shutdown and nationwide air visitors management staffing shortages, we, like most airways, are experiencing extra and widespread delays and cancellations throughout the nation at this time regardless of the superior cancellations that the FAA required us to make,” American Airways mentioned in a discover to clients Saturday. “We, once more, urge leaders in Washington, D.C., to succeed in an instantaneous decision to finish the shutdown.”
Air visitors controllers, together with airport safety screeners, are required to work through the shutdown with out receiving their common paychecks. Federal employees will miss their second full paycheck on Monday, in line with their union. Some controllers have taken second jobs to make ends meet, union officers have mentioned.
Nearly 2,200 U.S. flights have been canceled on Saturday as of 9:30 p.m. ET, about 7% of the day’s schedule, in line with aviation-data agency Cirium. Round a 3rd of that quantity was canceled early within the day, on par with a day of extreme thunderstorms, which might be disruptive, although they’re routine. Cirium mentioned Friday ranked because the 72nd worst for cancellations since Jan. 1, 2024.
Below the FAA’s order, the flight cuts will improve to six% of schedules, 8% by Thursday and 10% subsequent Friday. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy instructed Fox Information on Friday that cuts may finally attain as much as 20% of schedules, though he did not elaborate. Airways weren’t required to chop worldwide flights.
The disruptions are occurring at a usually low journey season, however the important thing Thanksgiving vacation weekend is lower than three weeks away. The affect for airways may quadruple given how fares throughout that high-demand interval spike, Seaport Analysis Companions airline analyst Daniel McKenzie mentioned in a observe on Friday.
Airways this week waived date-change charges for vacationers on affected flights and famous they will additionally request a refund. Airline executives acknowledged that many purchasers have been being rebooked on various flights, whereas last-minute modifications despatched others scrambling for different preparations. Hertz, for instance, acknowledged on Thursday that, when the FAA made its flight-cut announcement, one-way automobile leases elevated by 20% over the identical two-day interval a yr earlier.
Delays rose all through the day Saturday, with greater than 6,700 late-arriving U.S. flights, in line with FlightAware. Air visitors management staffing shortages prompted delays at main airports together with Delta Air Traces hub Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Worldwide Airport, San Francisco Worldwide Airport, John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport in New York, United Airways hubs Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport in New Jersey and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, and at Charlotte Douglas Worldwide Airport, a busy American hub, in addition to Chicago O’Hare Worldwide Airport.
Listed below are the airports the place the FAA and DOT cuts apply:
Impacted airports:
ANC – Anchorage InternationalATL – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta InternationalBOS – Boston Logan InternationalBWI – Baltimore/Washington InternationalCLT – Charlotte Douglas InternationalCVG – Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky InternationalDAL – Dallas LoveDCA – Ronald Reagan Washington NationalDEN – Denver InternationalDFW – Dallas/Fort Price InternationalDTW – Detroit Metropolitan Wayne CountyEWR – Newark Liberty InternationalFLL – Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood InternationalHNL – Honolulu InternationalHOU – Houston HobbyIAD – Washington Dulles InternationalIAH – George Bush Houston IntercontinentalIND – Indianapolis InternationalJFK – New York John F. Kennedy InternationalLAS – Las Vegas McCarran InternationalLAX – Los Angeles InternationalLGA – New York LaGuardiaMCO – Orlando InternationalMDW – Chicago MidwayMEM – Memphis InternationalMIA – Miami InternationalMSP – Minneapolis/St. Paul InternationalOAK – Oakland InternationalONT – Ontario InternationalORD – Chicago O’Hare InternationalPDX – Portland InternationalPHL – Philadelphia InternationalPHX – Phoenix Sky Harbor InternationalSAN – San Diego InternationalSDF – Louisville InternationalSEA – Seattle/Tacoma InternationalSFO – San Francisco InternationalSLC – Salt Lake Metropolis InternationalTEB – TeterboroTPA – Tampa Worldwide
