The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Wednesday that 40 major airports are targeted for a 10 percent reduction in flights. Among those are Washington Dulles International, Reagan National, and Baltimore Washington International, according to ABC News.
Other major cities that will experience cutbacks include Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
The ongoing government shutdown, now the longest in history, has resulted in 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 TSA agents working without pay, Reuters reported. These flight reductions aim to reduce pressure on air traffic controllers who are increasingly calling off work. Staffing shortages have led to several flight delays at airports across the country.
The flight reductions will start with a 4 percent reduction on Friday, November 7. They will increase to 5 percent by Saturday and 6 percent by Sunday. Reductions are scheduled to hit 10 percent next week, according to Reuters. Aviation analytics firm Cirium estimates these cuts could affect as many as 1,800 flights and 268,000 airline seats.
Several airlines and aviation unions have been urging Congress to end the shutdown. “The shutdown is putting unnecessary strain on the system, forcing difficult operational decisions that disrupt travel and damage confidence in the U.S. air travel experience. The fault for this situation rests squarely at the feet of Congress,” Geoff Freeman, U.S. Travel Association president and CEO, said in a November 5 statement.
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