US flight cancellations accelerate as airlines comply with government shutdown order

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U.S. airlines began canceling hundreds of flights Thursday due to the Federal Aviation Administration’s order to reduce traffic at the country’s busiest airports starting Friday because of the government shutdown.

Nearly 500 flights scheduled for Friday were already cut nationwide, and the number of cancellations climbed throughout Thursday afternoon, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions.

That’s more than four times the number of flights canceled on Thursday.

The FAA has ordered airlines to phase in a 10% reduction in their flight schedules at 40 of the busiest airports across more than two dozen states. The disruptions will affect service at many smaller airports, too, and on Thursday some travelers began changing or canceling their itineraries preemptively.

Airlines were scrambling to figure out where to cut, and travelers with plans for the weekend and beyond waited nervously to see if their flights would take off as scheduled.

The affected airports include busy connecting hubs and those in popular tourist destinations, including Atlanta, Denver, Orlando, Miami, and San Francisco. In some of the biggest cities — such as New York, Houston and Chicago — multiple airports will be affected.

Airlines will phase in the cuts at the direction of the FAA, starting with eliminating 4% of flights at the 40 airports on Friday and working up to 10%, according to three people familiar with what the agency said, but who were not authorized to discuss it publicly.

United Airlines will cut 4% of its flights over the weekend based on FAA guidance, said company spokesperson Josh Freed.

The FAA had not yet published an official order as of midday Thursday and didn’t immediately respond to questions about implementation details.

Some airlines plan to focus on slashing routes to and from small and medium-sized cities.

“This is going to have a noticeable impact across the U.S. air transportation system,” industry analyst Henry Harteveldt said.

The flight reductions coming just weeks before the busy holiday season have travelers already changing their plans or looking at other options.

Fallon Carter canceled her Friday flight from New York to Tampa, Florida, where she planned to spend the weekend at the beach. She was worried about making it back to Long Island for her best friend's wedding where she'll be a bridesmaid.

“I don’t know if I get there, will I get home?” Carter said.

The FAA said Wednesday it would reduce air traffic by 10% across “high-volume” markets to maintain travel safety as air traffic controllers exhibit signs of strain during the shutdown.

It's imposing the reductions to relieve pressure on air traffic controllers who are working without pay during the shutdown and have been increasingly calling off work. The move also comes as the Trump administration is ramping up pressure on Democrats in Congress to end the shutdown.

Air traffic controllers have been working unpaid since the shutdown began Oct. 1. Most work mandatory overtime six days a week, leaving little time for side jobs to help cover bills unless they call out.

The FAA in recent weeks has delayed flights when airports or its other facilities are short on controllers.

Passengers should start to be notified about cancellations Thursday. Airlines said they would try to minimize impact on customers, some of whom will see weekend travel plans disrupted with little notice.

United, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines said they would offer refunds to passengers who opt not to fly, even if they purchased non-refundable tickets.

The head of Frontier Airlines recommended that travelers buy backup tickets with another airline to avoid being stranded.

The cuts also could disrupt package deliveries because two airports with major distribution centers are on the list — FedEx operates at the airport in Memphis, Tennessee, and UPS in Louisville, Kentucky, the site of this week’s deadly cargo plane crash.

The cuts could affect as many as 1,800 flights, or upward of 268,000 passengers, per day, according to an estimate by aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Airlines are used to dealing with canceling thousands of flights on short notice during severe weather, but the difference now is that these cuts during the shutdown will last indefinitely until safety data improves.

“I’m not aware in my 35-year history in the aviation market where we’ve had a situation where we’re taking these kinds of measures,” FAA administrator Bryan Bedford said Wednesday. “We’re in new territory in terms of government shutdowns.”

The shutdown is putting unnecessary strain on the system and damaging confidence in the U.S. air travel experience,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman.

Kelly Matthews, who lives in Flat Rock, Michigan and frequently flies for work, said she has canceled most of her upcoming trips and understands why federal airport employees have stopped showing up.

“You can’t expect people to go into work when they’re not getting a paycheck for the continuation of over a month now,” she said. “I mean, it’s not a matter of them not wanting to do the job — but you can’t afford to pay for gas, your day care and everything else.”

The past weekend brought some of the worst staffing issues since the start of the shutdown.

From Friday to Sunday evening, at least 39 air traffic control facilities reported potential staffing limits, according to an AP analysis of operations plans shared through the Air Traffic Control System Command Center system. The figure, which is likely an undercount, is well above the average for weekends before the shutdown.

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Associated Press journalists Wyatte Grantham-Philips in New York, Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama, and Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed.