NEW YORK (AP) — The flight cancellations at U.S. airports are expected to continue even after the government shutdown ends.
The Federal Aviation Administration has reduced the number of flights because some air traffic controllers have stopped showing up for work – unpaid for weeks.
The Senate has taken a first step ending the closure Sunday, but the final passage could take several days. Transport Minister Sean Duffy made clear last week, flight cuts will remain in place until the FAA sees safety metrics improve.
On weekends, airlines thousands of flights cancelled to comply with the order to eliminate 4% of flights. The number of cancellations is expected to reach 6% of all flights 40 of the busiest airports in the country on Tuesday. By the end of the week, 10% of all flights at these airports are expected to be canceled.
As of Monday morning, airlines had already canceled 1,600 flights for Monday and almost 1,000 for Tuesday.
In addition to the mandatory cuts, there have been occasional flight delays at airports across the country since the shutdown began. That’s because the FAA slows down air traffic when there is a shortage of air traffic controllers at one of its facilities to ensure flights remain safe.
Tuesday will be the second missed payday for air traffic controllers and other FAA employees. It’s unclear how quickly they can be paid once the shutdown ends. The head of the controllers union, Nick Daniels, is planning a news conference Monday morning to explain the toll of the shutdown.
“The more controllers come to work every day, the further they go without a paycheck,” Duffy says.
The government has faced a shortage of air traffic controllers for years, and Duffy said the shutdown has exacerbated the problem, prompting some air traffic controllers to retire early or quit. Before the shutdown, Duffy had been working to address the shortage by hiring more controllers, accelerating training and offering bonuses to retain experienced controllers.
Duffy warned this weekend that if the shutdown continues, the situation could deteriorate further as the US enters the busy holiday season. He said air traffic could be “reduced to a trickle” by the week of Thanksgiving.
(Copyright (c) 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
#flight #cancellations #expected #continue #government #shutdown #ends #Boston #News #Weather #Sports #WHDH #7News