“Mass chaos”: FAA to cut flights at 40 major airports as shutdown strains aviation system

The Federal Aviation Administration announced this week it will scale back flights by about 10% at forty of the nation’s busiest airports, a move that could ground thousands of departures per day. The reductions are set to take effect Friday morning. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Tuesday that the ongoing government shutdown is pushing the U.S. aviation system toward a breaking point.

“If you bring us to a week from today, Democrats, you will see mass chaos. You will see mass flight delays,” he said. “You’ll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it because we don’t have air traffic controllers.”

The root of the crisis is that the FAA’s air traffic controllers, considered “essential workers,” have already missed one paycheck since the shutdown began at the start of last month. With the next paycheck scheduled for next Tuesday, Duffy says many controllers believe missing two would be unsustainable.

“They shouldn’t be the rope in this tug of war game that’s going on,” said Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. “We’re calling on Congress to end the shutdown. End it by any means. It needs to happen. Pass the legislation, pay the air traffic controllers and all the federal employees, and let us continue doing the amazing job that we do.”

Until now, the disruptions have been sporadic. Newark Liberty International Airport, for instance, saw hours-long delays last weekend as the FAA temporarily slowed or stopped traffic when staffing fell below safe levels. But with the new reductions looming, the strain on the system could soon turn isolated slowdowns into nationwide chaos. Travelers are already bracing for impact.

“It’s going to be crazy,” one passenger at Raleigh-Durham International Airport told ABC11. “I’m hoping that they’ll come to grips with how the American people are suffering,” said another.

In upstate New York, a traveler at the Rochester airport shared her fears with News10 NBC about the travel troubles amid the shutdown. Doreen Bernard, who is set to fly from Rochester to JFK on Friday before continuing on to Montego Bay, Jamaica, said she’s worried her flight may not take off at all.

“I cannot afford not to go to Jamaica,” she said. “It’s important to me. I’m going to bury my sister and I need to get over there. So I hope that it does not affect my flight.”