U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that the U.S. will reduce activity at 40 major U.S. airports by 10% starting Friday if the government shutdown persists.
“One of the measures will be a 10 percent reduction in capacity at 40 of our locations. This decision is based on data, based on which airline has the most flights and where the pressure on the system is concentrated,” Duffy said after explaining that about 2,000 more air traffic controllers are needed to operate normally.
Government shutdown reduces air activity
Air Traffic Controllers are not getting paid and they’ve all told me it’s really hard.
It’s going to be rough heading into the holidays if we are still in the shutdown. There will be flight disruptions. @USDOT will mitigate the safety side.
But, I would still be booking your… pic.twitter.com/fkABy4gI5g
– Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 6, 2025
Following Sean Duffy’s announcement, major U.S. airlines said they will try to preserve international flights as part of their efforts to minimize the impact of flight reductions.
United Airlines confirmed in a statement that it will adjust its schedules to comply with the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) order to reduce schedules at the nation’s top 40 airports by 10% starting Friday.
The company said it seeks to “minimize cancellations” and prioritize “especially long-haul international flights”.
Along the same lines, Delta and American Airlines joined in the preservation of international routes and added in separate communiqués that “affected passengers will be relocated” and that they will have access to “flexible options to change, cancel, refund flights without penalty.
According to the Department of Transportation, between 4,000 and 4,500 flights per day could be affected, including both commercial and cargo flights, if no agreement is reached between Republicans and Democrats to pass a budget to reopen the U.S. government.
Since the beginning of the government shutdown, the country has experienced the loss of some 2,000 air traffic controllers, who have reportedly gone to look for other jobs since they were working without pay.
The government shutdown, which began Oct. 1 is the longest in the country’s history, surpassing the 35-day 2018-2019 shutdown of Trump’s first term, which ended largely because of pressure from air traffic controllers.
Uncertainty at U.S. airports.
From @WSJopinion: Government shutdowns are rarely productive, but letting them cripple national travel is daft. Spin the air traffic system off from government, so flights won’t be hostage to D.C. https://t.co/zw15uk6yfz
– The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) November 6, 2025
Travelers in the United States are suffering from growing uncertainty at the country’s major airports due to a wave of delays and cancellations resulting from a shortage of controllers due to the government shutdown, the longest in history.
Among the airports affected are mainly those with international connections, such as John F. Kennedy (JFK) in New York, Newark in New Jersey, O’Hare International in Chicago and Ronald Reagan International in Washington.
In the U.S. capital, Cristal, a traveler bound for Dallas, Texas, told EFE of her fear of not arriving on time for her stopover and missing her flight home.
“I changed my second flight because I didn’t know if I was going to make it on time, and I still think I’ll be stranded at the airport because of delays,” she lamented.
Lauren Smith, a New York journalist who traveled to Washington for a work conference, now has to rush back to her hometown because she must be on time to pick up her son from school and take him to an important doctor’s appointment.
“If my flight is delayed I’m going to be disappointed on many levels. I have made great professional sacrifices to be there for my son today,” she said.
Thanksgiving Concerns
Flight reductions on Friday will start at 4%, working their way up to 10%, according to ABC News.https://t.co/BgWEYnveDn
– 7News DC (@7NewsDC) November 6, 2025
Lexi and Cloey, two students bound for Florida, already received notification that their flight was delayed by an hour.
However, his biggest concern is that the delays will drag on and affect Thanksgiving Day at the end of November.
“We already know it’s going to be chaotic,” the young women lamented.
Other travelers leave Washington without having been able to visit many iconic sites, temporarily closed due to the government shutdown.
“We wanted to go to the zoo and the Smithsonian Museum, but it wasn’t to be,” said Tiffany, accompanied by her husband and four-year-old son.
Some passengers, like Manny, believe that pressure from the controllers will help Republicans and Democrats in Congress agree to pass budgets to reopen the government.
“They have to stand up and resist across the country,” he said.
In the last government shutdown, in 2018, under Trump’s first term, it was precisely the absenteeism of these workers, by paralyzing part of the country’s air traffic, that managed to end the government shutdown.
One of the measures will be a 10% reduction in capacity at 40 of our locations. This decision is based on data, taking into account which airline has the most flights and where system pressure is concentrated
QuéOnnda.com
Filed under: Government shutdown reduces air activity
With information from EFE
