Shutdown fallout: FAA slashes air traffic by 10% across 40 US hubs; safety risk prompts drastic step

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will reduce air traffic by 10% across 40 of America’s busiest markets from Friday, an unprecedented move to ensure flight safety as the ongoing government shutdown strains air traffic controllers.

The announcement, made Wednesday, could affect thousands of flights daily, as the FAA manages more than 44,000 aircraft movements each day, including commercial, cargo, and private flights.FAA administrator Bryan Bedford said this was a measure he had “not seen in 35 years in aviation,” reported news agency AP. Controllers have been working without pay since the shutdown began on October 1, often clocking six-day weeks with mandatory overtime.

Many have been calling in sick, taking second jobs, or struggling with daily expenses, resulting in staff shortages and delays at several airports.Bedford, along with US transportation secretary Sean Duffy, said the decision aimed to prevent a potential safety crisis. “We’re not going to wait for a safety problem to truly manifest itself when the early indicators are telling us we can take action today,” Bedford said.

“The system is extremely safe today and will be extremely safe tomorrow.”The FAA and transportation department are meeting airline executives to decide how to apply the reduction before releasing the list of affected airports on Thursday. Major carriers such as United, American, and Southwest said they would adjust schedules to reduce passenger disruption. United CEO Scott Kirby assured staff that cuts would focus on regional routes, not hub-to-hub or long-haul international flights.

“That’s important to maintain the integrity of our network,” Kirby said, as quoted by AP.Aviation analytics firm Cirium estimated that the 10% reduction could mean around 1,800 cancelled flights, eliminating nearly 268,000 passenger seats. Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport could lose up to 121 of its scheduled 1,212 flights on Friday, Cirium added.According to NPR, the FAA has been facing persistent shortages at major hubs including Dallas, Houston, Newark, and Phoenix.

Controllers have long raised concerns about exhaustion, stagnant wages, and mandatory overtime. “I think we’re reaching a tipping point,” one controller told NPR anonymously, citing fear of retaliation.Travel industry groups and unions have urged Congress to end the shutdown, warning that safety risks could escalate. Duffy said the cuts were a “proactive” measure. “Our heart goes out to those who will have flights disrupted,” he said. “This is what we feel like we have to do to make sure we maintain that safety profile”, he added.The FAA’s weekend reports show worsening staffing levels. From Friday to Sunday, 39 control facilities flagged limited staffing, compared with an average of eight before the shutdown, according to AP. As Duffy noted, lessons from past incidents—such as the January midair collision near Washington National Airport—had shown the cost of acting too late. “We learned from that,” he said. “Now we look at data and try to make moves before there could be adverse consequences.”