On a Friday in early November, hundreds of flights across the United States were quietly erased from the sky, roughly three in every hundred scheduled, as a government shutdown reached into the machinery that moves people through the air. The burden fell on air traffic controllers, who are required to keep working without pay and who, in some cases, are turning to second jobs to make ends meet. It is an old pattern in public life: those deemed too essential to stop are often the ones asked to carry the cost of a standstill. Whether this becomes a passing disruption or a deeper strain before th
780 US Flights Cancelled as Shutdown Strains Air Travel, With Deeper Cuts Possible Before Thanksgiving
Travellers at Reagan Washington National Airport faced average waits of four hours on Friday, and air traffic controllers are working without pay.
10 per cent would have been a good number
Mark
Three per cent of flights cancelled doesn't sound catastrophic. Why is this being treated as a warning?
Mimi
Because 780 is a midday Friday figure, and the schedule of mandated cuts is rising: 6 per cent Tuesday, 8 per cent Thursday, 10 per cent the Friday after. The 3 per cent is a starting point.
Mark
And the cause is the controllers?
Mimi
They're essential workers, so they have to show up unpaid. The worry is that some will take second jobs and be unavailable to staff the airspace.
Luke
Careful there. The source says that is the risk Duffy described, and it says controllers are being pushed toward other work. It doesn't give a count of how many have actually left or missed shifts.
Mark
What about the 20 per cent figure?
Mimi
That's Duffy's warning for Thanksgiving if the crisis persists. He also said 10 per cent might look like a good number compared to 15 or 20.
Luke
Right, and that's a conditional projection from one official, not a forecast. The only confirmed numbers are the cancellations so far and the DOT's scheduled steps up to 10 per cent.
Mark
Do the airlines show the same picture?
Mimi
American expects about 220 cancellations a day through the weekend, Delta cancelled 173, and United 184.
Luke
Though the source doesn't say whether those are all shutdown-related or how they overlap with the 780 total, so I wouldn't add them up.
Mark
And the four-hour waits at Reagan National?
Mimi
That's an FAA advisory average for Friday. It's one airport, but it shows what passengers are facing right now.
Le Pouls
- About 780 flights were cancelled by midday Friday, and the number is climbing as the shutdown drags on.
- Air traffic controllers are working without pay under an essential-worker designation, and some are taking second jobs to survive.
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warns cuts could reach 15 to 20 per cent if more controllers stay away, with 20 per cent possible by Thanksgiving.
- The Department of Transportation has set a tiered schedule of mandated cuts: 6 per cent Tuesday, 8 per cent Thursday, and 10 per cent the following Friday.
- Travellers at Reagan Washington National faced average waits of four hours, and airports are bracing for worse as the holiday season approaches.
On a Friday in early November, hundreds of flights across the United States were quietly erased from the sky, roughly three in every hundred scheduled, as a government shutdown reached into the machinery that moves people through the air. The burden fell on air traffic controllers, who are required to keep working without pay and who, in some cases, are turning to second jobs to make ends meet. It is an old pattern in public life: those deemed too essential to stop are often the ones asked to carry the cost of a standstill. Whether this becomes a passing disruption or a deeper strain before the Thanksgiving rush depends on how many of those controllers can keep showing up.
By midday Friday, about 780 flights across the United States had been cancelled, roughly three per cent of the 25,000 scheduled nationwide. The shutdown was pressing on the air travel system, and the pressure was concentrated on air traffic controllers. They are designated essential, so they must keep working, yet they are not being paid. Some have already begun looking for other jobs to cover the gap, and there is fear that more will follow in the days ahead.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy named the stakes in an interview with Fox News. If more controllers walk away from their posts for second jobs, he said, reductions could climb to 15 or 20 per cent, and could reach 20 per cent by Thanksgiving if the crisis persists. He called the situation a moment-by-moment assessment and said the department was doing all it could to keep the airspace safe.
The Department of Transportation has already set a tiered plan of mandated cuts: 6 per cent on Tuesday, 8 per cent on Thursday, and 10 per cent the following Friday. Airlines are absorbing the blow unevenly. American expects to cancel about 220 flights a day through the weekend, Delta cancelled 173 and United 184.
On the ground, the cost was plain. At Reagan Washington National, travellers faced average waits of four hours on Friday, and airport officials urged passengers to check flight status often and prepare for delays. As the holiday season nears, the open questions are whether the scheduled cuts take effect on time and whether the shortages Duffy described push them further.
By midday Friday, about 780 flights across the United States had been cancelled, according to the aviation analytics firm Cirium. That is roughly 3 per cent of the 25,000 flights scheduled nationwide, and it came as the government shutdown continued to put pressure on the country's air travel system.
The strain traces back to air traffic controllers. They are designated essential workers, which means they are required to keep working even though they are not being paid. The source describes some of them being forced to look for other employment to cover the gap, and the concern is that more will do so in the coming days, leaving fewer people to staff the airspace.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy put numbers on that worry in an interview with Fox News. If more controllers decide they cannot come to work and instead take a second job, he said, flight reductions could climb to 15 or 20 per cent. By that measure, he suggested, a 10 per cent cut would turn out to have been a good outcome. He warned that the reductions could reach as high as 20 per cent by the Thanksgiving holiday if the crisis persists. He described the situation as a moment-by-moment assessment and said the department was doing all it could to keep travellers safe in the airspace.
The Department of Transportation has already put a tiered reduction plan in place. Mandated flight cuts will rise to 6 per cent on Tuesday, 8 per cent on Thursday, and 10 per cent the following Friday.
The airlines are absorbing the effects in different amounts. American Airlines said it expects to cancel about 220 flights a day through the weekend. Delta cancelled 173 flights, and United cut 184.
For passengers, the effects were visible on the ground. At Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, average waits reached four hours on Friday, according to an advisory from the Federal Aviation Administration. Airport officials urged travellers to check their flight status frequently and to prepare for longer waits.
Those officials said disruptions appeared likely to worsen as the busy holiday travel season approaches. What to watch is whether the scheduled increases to 6, 8 and 10 per cent take effect on time, and whether the controller shortages Duffy described push cuts beyond them before Thanksgiving.
Citations marquantes
This is a moment-by-moment assessment. We're doing all we can to make sure travellers are safe as they move through the airspace.— Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, on Fox News
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