U.S, Nov 10 : As the U.S. federal government shutdown stretched into its 40th day on Sunday, air travel chaos intensified, with more than 2,000 flights cancelled and over 8,000 delayed nationwide, according to FlightAware.
The surge in cancellations follows the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) flight reduction policy, which took effect on Friday. Flight disruptions escalated from 202 cancellations on Thursday to 1,025 on Friday and 1,566 on Saturday.
Rising absenteeism among air traffic controllers since the shutdown began on October 1 has forced many on-duty personnel to work overtime, further straining the system. In response, the U.S. Department of Transportation and FAA implemented a 10% capacity reduction at 40 major airports to manage staffing shortages and mitigate airspace safety risks.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned CNN, “It’s only going to get worse. In the two weeks before Thanksgiving, air travel could be reduced to a trickle.” National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett added on CBS that a slowdown in holiday travel could result in a negative economic impact for the fourth quarter.
The ongoing shutdown continues to disrupt airlines, passengers, and airport operations nationwide, raising concerns over the approaching peak holiday travel season.