Flights will be cut by 6% on Tuesday in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration orders, even though the government shutdown appears to be on the verge of ending.
On Friday, flights were already reduced by 4% in 40 “high traffic” airports across the country. By 6 a.m. Tuesday, that number increased to 6%, and will gradually increase to 8% on Thursday and 10% by Friday.
The FAA’s calculated measure of reducing flights will “reassure the American travelers that it is absolutely safe to fly in the American skies,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said, citing a significant nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers.
The government shutdown has led to air traffic controllers abandoning their posts, as Tuesday marks their second consecutive missed paycheck.
The shortage of air traffic controllers has already led to the cancellation of 4,500 flights this weekend alone, according to the flight tracker FlightAware.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reassured CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday that if the government shutdown were to continue, air travel could be “reduced to a trickle” by Thanksgiving.
Duffy added that during the shutdown, the number of air traffic controllers resigning from their posts has increased between 15 and 20 a day, in comparison to the four to five doing so beforehand.
President Donald Trump wrote on social media that the air traffic controllers who left their posts will be docked, and those who worked throughout the government shutdown will receive a $10,000 bonus on top of their missed paychecks.
After Duffy’s remarks, eight members of the Senate Democratic Caucus aligned their votes with 42 of their Republican colleagues to pass a measure to fund and reopen the federal government until January 2026.
However, the House of Representatives must vote on the measure before it can receive the president’s signature — meaning the government shutdown may only last a few more days.
