Amid what has now become the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, federal aviation officials are reducing the number of flights by up to 10% at airports — a move that highlights the sheer scale of the funding disruptions across different sectors, from air travel to food to defense.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters on Thursday that officials plan to reduce air traffic at 40 airports by 10%, a decision that threatens to severely impact holiday travel, experts say.
Even before the announcement, the airline industry had been facing delays due to a shortage of air traffic controllers. The 10% reduction in flights translates to roughly 1,800 cancellations and as many as 268,000 fewer available seats for passengers, according to aviation experts with the analytics firm Cirium.
