FAA announces flight reductions at 40 airports. Here's what travelers need to know

Airlines rushed to supply travelers updates aft the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that it would reduce flights crossed 40 airports arsenic the longest authorities shutdown successful past continues to resistance on.

Many large airlines said they would waive cancellation fees for adjacent their astir basal tickets, which often travel with penalties for changes.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy antecedently said helium would reduce formation capacity by astir 10%, affecting 3,500 to 4,000 flights daily. The FAA has not yet announced which "high traffic" airports would beryllium affected.

On Wednesday, Duffy said the simplification was a "proactive" measurement owed to the delays and cancellations already occurring owed to the shutdown. Air postulation controllers, who are considered indispensable employees required to enactment during a shutdown, person missed paychecks, and the FAA has said the closure has besides raised concerns astir already bladed staffing among controllers.

Duffy said helium expects much cancellations arsenic a effect of the reduction, which has nary acceptable extremity time.

"We thought 10% was the close fig based connected the unit we were seeing," Duffy added.

Earlier this week, Duffy told CNBC's "Squawk Box" that helium could "shut the full airspace down" if the shutdown drags on.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said Wednesday that further measures whitethorn beryllium implemented aft the reduction, which helium said helium has ne'er seen earlier successful his clip successful the industry. The officials said they were readying to conscionable with airlines to sermon which flights would beryllium cut.

In a Wednesday memo to United Airlines employees, CEO Scott Kirby said the hose volition not beryllium reducing long-haul planetary flying and hub-to-hub flying, alternatively reducing determination and home flights that bash not alert betwixt hubs.

The hose besides offered each customers refunds adjacent if their flights are not impacted. Kirby said that included "non-refundable tickets and those customers with basal system tickets."

In a statement, Delta Air Lines said it expects to run the "vast majority" of its flights arsenic scheduled and volition connection changes, cancellations oregon refunds for customers' flights during the impacted period. Delta besides said that would see basal system fares, without penalty.

Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle said helium highly recommends travelers flying Friday oregon successful the adjacent 10 days publication a backup summons connected different bearer arsenic the formation reductions statesman to debar getting stranded owed to formation cancellations.

"I'm atrocious this is happening. Hopefully the shutdown is implicit soon," Biffle wrote connected LinkedIn. "Just giving everyone applicable question advice."

American Airlines said it expects the "vast bulk of customers' question volition proceed arsenic planned," adding that the hose volition scope retired to travelers proactively arsenic docket changes occur.

The hose besides said it volition connection contiguous rebooking options for each impacted travelers and that customers whose flights are canceled for immoderate crushed volition beryllium capable to alteration their formation oregon petition a refund without penalty. As of Thursday morning, the hose was inactive awaiting clarifying accusation from the FAA astir which of its flights volition beryllium impacted.

Southwest Airlines besides released a statement saying that the bulk of its flights volition not beryllium impacted and that its planetary flights should run arsenic usual. The hose said it volition "proactively pass good successful beforehand and volition connection flexibility successful question plans."

The Association of Flight Attendants, representing 55,000 formation attendants astatine 20 airlines, released a connection Wednesday urging Congress to extremity the shutdown truthful aerial postulation controllers and Transportation Security Administration workers tin get paid.

"The mendacious communicative that this shutdown is simply a prime of either paying national workers oregon protecting affordable healthcare is outrageous erstwhile some crises were manufactured by the nonstop radical who tin hole it," the connection read.

Experts urge consumers who are acceptable to question successful the adjacent week enactment connected apical of formation cancellations and delays done the websites and apps.

Nick Ewen, elder editorial manager astatine question tract The Points Guy, said flexibility "is going to beryllium key" arsenic travelers unreserved to rebook, adding it's important to download each airline's mobile app and alteration each notifications.

"A batch of the times, you person to really alteration notifications connected idiosyncratic trips oregon successful your relationship to substance you if determination are changes oregon disruptions," Ewen told CNBC.

He recommended anyone with non-urgent question reschedule their trips, though that apt lone applies to a tiny fig of travelers, and see choosing different forms of proscription instead. For indispensable trips, Ewen said passengers should beryllium prepared for agelong hold times, usage self-service rebooking tools and beryllium alert of the information that galore different radical volition besides beryllium rebooking and scrambling for constricted seats.

Ewen said helium has been covering the manufacture for galore years, and the past clip helium and his colleagues saw a major, nationalist disruption successful aerial question similar this was 9/11.

"The biggest happening is simply a batch of kindness goes a agelong way," helium said. "So if you're astatine an airdrome and you find retired that your formation is canceled, I committedness you screaming astatine that hose worker is not going to get you rebooked immoderate faster — successful fact, it's astir apt going to marque them little apt to beryllium consenting to assistance you. So admit that everyone is successful this together."

AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz said the institution recommends arriving astatine the airdrome other aboriginal to debar agelong lines and debar checking successful a container if imaginable successful lawsuit flights get canceled.

"Ultimately, there's a batch that's retired of travelers' power — truthful power what you can, and beryllium arsenic flexible arsenic possible," Diaz said.

Travel security tin reimburse consumers for definite costs and inconveniences incurred from a travel disruption, similar formation cancellations, delays, mislaid luggage, oregon unforeseen costs for lodging and meals.

Consumers person been buying travel insurance astatine an elevated complaint amid the authorities shutdown, but travel and security experts pass that specified policies don't connection broad extortion for shutdown-related question snafus, and a batch depends connected the good print.

For example, a policyholder mostly can't get security benefits if they take to cancel their question plans to debar immoderate headaches. Cancel-for-any-reason sum is an exception, though it besides comes with its ain caveats.

Whether oregon not a policyholder gets compensated whitethorn travel down to the rationale an hose provides for a delayed oregon canceled flight.

Many insurers lone wage benefits if a hold oregon cancellation is attributable to a "common carrier" disruption similar a mechanical failure, question experts said.

"Airlines typically won't mention causes different than operational presumption similar 'mechanical issues' oregon wide delays, cancellations, oregon mislaid belongings, adjacent during a authorities shutdown," Lauren McCormick, a spokesperson for Squaremouth, an online level for comparing question security policies, wrote successful a caller blog post. "So, these are mostly inactive covered nether astir broad question security plans."