Flights will be slashed by 10% in 40 major cities across the US starting Friday morning as the federal government grapples with the ongoing historic shutdown — likely leaving millions of flyers in the lurch.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and Federal Aviation Administration boss Bryan Bedford did not yet reveal which airports across the country would be affected when they made their announcement Wednesday afternoon.
“This is proactive,” Duffy explained during a press conference.
The change will affect commercial and private travel — and even space flight — and could ground as many as 4,000 flights nationwide.
The officials said the shutdown, which became the longest-ever on Wednesday, has exacerbated an existing shortage of air traffic controllers — who have been unpaid since the start of the shutdown on Oct. 1.
“We are seeing pressures build in a way that if we allow it to go unchecked, will not allow us to tell the public that we operate the safest airline system in the world. And we are not going to react to that. We intend to be proactive,” Bedford added.
Oct. 28 marked the first scheduled paycheck that air traffic controllers did not receive. Duffy noted they were allotted a partial payment in early October.
“Our air traffic controllers and a lot of those at DOT and throughout the government, they haven’t received paychecks. And many of these employees, they’re the head of household,” he said.
“They have their spouse at home, they have a child or two or three, and when they lose income, they’re confronted with real-world difficulties in how they pay their bills.”
Duffy explained that some have resorted to taking “side jobs” to make up the monumental losses brought on by the shutdown.
Since the shutdown started, entire air traffic control towers have gone unmanned during operating hours as airports struggle to fill the schedules with willing workers. Others have been plagued by endless delays, which officials said will only get worse as the shutdown enters its second month.
New York area airports haven’t been spared, either.
Last week, two planes collided on the tarmac at LaGuardia Airport as ever-growing delays for antsy travelers inside, with many stretching beyond two hours.
Newark Liberty International Airport, which consistently spiraled into chaos during spring and summer due to rampant construction, staffing shortages and even bizarre technology outages, temporarily had all its flights halted by the FAA on Oct. 29.
Orlando International Airport, which is at the heart of Florida’s major amusement parks, is nearing total closure as it repeatedly came close to cancelling all landings.
The FAA has attributed many of the snares to growing staffing shortages.
Duffy said that the agency “figured 10%” was an appropriate number “based on the pressure we were seeing.”
“We do not want to see disruptions at the FAA or here at the DOT, but our number one priority is to make sure when you travel, you travel safely,” Duffy said.
Bedford assured that the cuts would not affect air safety but would give overworked controllers some relief.
Meanwhile, it could take years for the air traffic controller shortage to be addressed, and the shutdown has only ground the process to a halt.
“It takes years to bring more well-trained certified controllers into the airspace. The shutdown is having an impact on our ability to maintain those numbers and dent that and dent that … shortage that we have,” Duffy said.
Duffy previously warned that the Trump administration may close parts of US airspace if the shutdown continues into next week, which would only spur more flight delays and cancellations.
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