FAA Announces Widespread Flight Cuts as Government Shutdown Persists

The Federal Aviation Administration has announced that they will impose a 10% reduction on US flights at 40 major airports amid the ongoing government shutdown.

These reductions begin today at around 4%, with airlines beginning to cut some extra flights or routes that are unnecessary for operation. This will further expand over the weekend, reaching 10% by sometime next week. Although the FAA has established that they will cut domestic flights only, leaving international flights on schedule, the reductions apply to both commercial and cargo flights.

Airlines are now scrambling to adjust schedules and change flight plans, though major carriers like American, United, Southwest, JetBlue, Frontier, and Delta have reported that the reductions impact a minimal number of planes. Nevertheless, they are still offering refunds and other packages to be shifted to another flight or cancelled, but they have confirmed that the reductions will not have an extremely significant impact on their operations unless they are raised further in the future.

The reductions have been caused by the persisting government shutdown in the United States, leading to shortages of air traffic controllers and TSA security officers. During a shutdown, FAA workers, TSA officers, and air traffic controllers are all considered essential workers, meaning that they continue to work despite receiving no pay.

While the workers do receive backpay at the end of the shutdown for their work, many do not maintain enough savings to support themselves and their families for months at a time. This forces them to find other side jobs to afford essentials and pay their bills, creating stress for workers.

Because of this, many air traffic controllers simply choose not to work for that time period, creating problems at airports. The FAA reported that almost 80% of ATC officers did not come to work last Friday, forcing the remaining 20% to take on additional stress and manage hundreds of flights with less support.

Unfortunately, the government remains at an impasse over the shutdown, with both Democrats and Republicans blaming each other. Both sides are trying to capitalize on the fact that they need to pass a new bill for the fiscal year ahead, leaving neither side with a clear majority.

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