U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday he would order a 10% reduction in flights at 40 major U.S. airports, citing air traffic control safety concerns due to the government shutdown, which reached a record 36 days.
The drastic plan forced airlines to make significant flight reductions in just 36 hours, and passengers flooded airline customer service lines with concerns about air travel in the coming days.
Duffy noted that the reductions could be reversed if Democrats agreed to reopen the government.
The shutdown, the longest in US history, has forced 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration agents to work without pay.
The Trump administration has stepped up pressure on Democrats to end the shutdown, raising the possibility of major aviation disruptions to force them to vote to reopen the government. Democrats maintain that Republicans are responsible for refusing to negotiate on key health care subsidies.
Tens of thousands of flights have been delayed since the shutdown began due to a widespread shortage of air traffic controllers. Airlines say at least 3.2 million travelers have already been affected by staffing shortages in air traffic control.
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“We had an assessment of what our job is,” Duffy told reporters, citing a confidential security assessment of the impact of the shutdown on controllers that raised concerns about their performance. “Our job is to make sure we make the difficult decisions to continue to keep airspace safe.”
Reuters previously reported on the plan.
In a call with major US airlines, the FAA said capacity reductions at airports would start at 4%, rising to 5% on Saturday and 6% on Sunday, before reaching 10% next week, according to industry sources cited by Reuters. The FAA also plans to exempt international flights from the reductions.
“When we see pressures building in these 40 markets, we can’t ignore it,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said at a news conference. “We can take action today to prevent things from getting worse, so the system is extremely secure today and will be extremely secure tomorrow.”
Although the government did not name the 40 affected airports, the reductions were expected to impact the 30 busiest airports, including those in New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Dallas. This would reduce up to 1,800 flights and more than 268,000 airline seats, according to aeronautical analysis firm Cirium.
The measure aims to relieve pressure on air traffic controllers. The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of target staffing levels, and many were already working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks before the shutdown.
The FAA also warned that it could add more flight restrictions after Friday if more air traffic problems arise.
Airlines for America, a trade group representing major airlines such as Delta, United, American and Southwest, said its members were trying to understand next steps.
“We are working with the federal government to understand all the details of the new reduction mandate and will try to mitigate the impacts for passengers and shippers,” he said.
Officials said nothing would be final until the FAA issues an order Thursday.
The federal government is largely shut down as Republicans and Democrats are locked in a standoff in Congress over a funding bill. Democrats have insisted they would not approve a plan that does not extend health insurance subsidies, while Republicans have rejected it.
President Donald Trump and Republicans have been trying to ramp up pressure on Democrats by increasing the pain average Americans are feeling due to the government shutdown.
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The shutdown, which began Oct. 1, left many low-income Americans without food assistance, shut down many government services and led to the layoffs of approximately 750,000 federal employees.
Duffy had warned Tuesday that if the federal government shutdown continued for another week, it could lead to “massive chaos” and force him to close part of the national airspace to air traffic.
Airlines have repeatedly urged an end to the closure, citing risks to air safety.
Airline stocks fall
Shares of major airlines, including United and American, fell about 1% in extended trading.
Airlines said the shutdown has not significantly affected their business, but warned that bookings could decline if the shutdown persists. More than 2,100 flights were delayed Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Bedford said between 20% and 40% of controllers at the agency’s 30 largest airports did not show up for work.
Duffy said authorities would also limit space launches to certain times of day and restrictions on general aviation flights were expected.
With information from Reuters
