Mass cancellations of flights successful the United States are causing havoc for travellers aft the authorities ordered a simplification successful the formation docket owed to a deficiency of aerial postulation controllers.
The reduced formation schedule, acceptable to statesman connected Friday, comes arsenic the US continues with its longest-ever authorities shutdown, which began connected October 1, aft Congress was incapable to hold connected a national backing bill.
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On Thursday night, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a phased-in simplification plan, which sets retired that airlines indispensable chopped 4 percent of home flights from 6am EST (11:00 GMT) connected Friday and gradually summation to 10 percent by November 14.
So far, nary planetary flights person been affected by the planned cancellations.
According to an estimation by the aviation analytics steadfast Cirium, astir 1,800 flights are being cancelled – a simplification of 268,000 seats.
Here’s what we cognize astir the cancellations:
Why are flights being cancelled successful the US?
Since the October 1 authorities shutdown, present the longest successful history, determination has been nary motion of the Republicans and Democrats ending their standoff implicit healthcare backing and agreeing connected a caller backing bill. Hundreds of thousands of national workers, including aerial postulation controllers, person been furloughed oregon are moving unpaid.
While national workers person received backmost wage pursuing the extremity of erstwhile authorities shutdowns, President Donald Trump has threatened to sack galore of them altogether if the Democrats bash not hold to motion disconnected connected the backing bill.
So far, 13,000 aerial postulation controllers and 50,000 information screeners person been required to enactment without wage arsenic they are classified arsenic indispensable workers, truthful they volition not person outgo until the shutdown is lifted.
However, successful an effort to alleviate unit connected the already overworked industry, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the determination to trim flights now, earlier the engaged Thanksgiving play astatine the extremity of the month.
In a station connected X connected Thursday night, Duffy said the determination to trim flights was not astir authorities but astir “assessing the information and alleviating gathering hazard successful the strategy arsenic controllers proceed moving without pay”.
.@USDOT has galore responsibilities, but our fig 1 occupation is safety.
This isn’t astir authorities – it’s astir assessing the information and alleviating gathering hazard successful the strategy arsenic controllers proceed moving without pay.
It’s harmless to alert today, tomorrow, and the time aft because… pic.twitter.com/YRrq5sdy4T
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 7, 2025
“I’d emotion to wage them, but I can’t,” helium added successful a aboriginal post.
I don’t person entree to wealth to wage aerial postulation controllers during this shutdown. Congress has said determination is nary money. I’d emotion to wage them, but I can’t.
My connection to Democrats is to beryllium down, fig it out, and not clasp the American radical hostage- particularly erstwhile they privation to… pic.twitter.com/up2peizyZn
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 6, 2025
Is it harmless to fly?
Yes.
“It’s harmless to alert today, tomorrow, and the time aft due to the fact that of the proactive actions we are taking,” Duffy wrote successful a station accompanying a wider statement.
The connection besides cited FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, who said the bureau would “not hesitate to instrumentality further action” to alleviate unit connected workers.
“We are seeing signs of accent successful the system, truthful we are proactively reducing the fig of flights to marque definite the American radical tin fly,” Bedford said, adding that they were monitoring the situation.
It remains unclear however agelong the cancellations volition continue.
Which airports volition beryllium affected?
Forty of the country’s busiest airports person cancelled flights, including:
- Anchorage international, Alaska
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta international, Georgia
- Boston Logan international, Massachusetts
- Baltimore/Washington international, Maryland
- Charlotte Douglas international, North Carolina
- Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky international, Kentucky
- Dallas Love Field, Texas
- Ronald Reagan Washington national, Virginia
- Denver international, Colorado
- Dallas/Fort Worth international, Texas
- Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County, Michigan
- Newark Liberty international, New Jersey
- Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood international, Florida
- Honolulu international, Hawaii
- Houston Hobby, Texas
- Washington Dulles international, Virginia
- George Bush Houston intercontinental, Texas
- Indianapolis international, Indiana
- John F Kennedy international, New York
- Harry Reid international, Las Vegas
- Los Angeles international, California
- LaGuardia, New York
- Orlando international, Florida
- Chicago Midway international, Illinois
- Memphis international, Tennessee
- Miami international, Florida
- Minneapolis/St Paul international, Minnesota
- Oakland international, California
- Ontario international, California
- Chicago O`Hare international, Illinois
- Portland international, Oregon
- Philadelphia international, Pennsylvania
- Phoenix Sky Harbour international, Arizona
- San Diego international, California
- Louisville international, Kentucky
- Seattle/Tacoma international, Washington
- San Francisco international, California
- Salt Lake City international, Utah
- Teterboro, New Jersey
- Tampa international, Florida
When was the past clip this happened?
The past authorities shutdown successful January 2019, during Trump’s archetypal word arsenic president, lasted for 35 days.
On that occasion, question was temporarily suspended astatine New York’s LaGuardia airdrome erstwhile respective aerial postulation workers who had been required to enactment without wage failed to crook up, calling successful sick instead. The question suspension astatine LaGuardia led to delays astatine different large airports, including successful Philadelphia and Atlanta.
This action, on with different staffing issues, prompted Trump to hold to temporarily extremity the shutdown. The authorities shutdown formally ended successful February.
Air postulation controllers astatine Hollywood airdrome operating amid the US authorities shutdown, successful Burbank, California, connected October 7, 2025 [Daniel Cole/Reuters]Which flights are cancelled and what tin travellers do?
International flights volition not beryllium cancelled.
It is unclear precisely which home flights are affected, however. Katy Nastro, a question expert astatine Going, the flight-finder website, told ABC News that “less afloat flights to smaller cities, oregon flights with much constricted schedules to statesman with, are astir apt connected the chopping block”.
Alaska Airlines said astir cancellations volition impact high-frequency routes, to let travellers to beryllium accommodated with minimal disruption.
The Department of Transportation said airlines would beryllium required to contented afloat refunds to travellers whose flights had been cancelled, but secondary costs, including nutrient and edifice accommodation, would not beryllium covered unless a hold oregon cancellation was wrong the power of the carrier.
The CEO of Frontier Airlines, Barry Biffle, recommended that travellers bargain backup tickets with different hose to debar being stranded oregon missing an indispensable travel if the formation gets cancelled.
Who is the worst affected?
Todd Curtis, laminitis of Airsafe, an aviation information website, told Al Jazeera that the shutdown was having a important interaction connected workers.
“If there’s not capable staff, there’s procedures successful place. What’s a much important issue, and this was handed retired by the caput of transportation, is fatigue due to the fact that of staffing issues. Controllers person been asked to enactment six-day [work]weeks [with] mandatory overtime. Even nether the champion of circumstances, this is simply a hard job,” Curtis explained.
Travellers facing disruption voiced choler astir the cancellations.
At Reagan nationalist airdrome successful Arlington, Virginia, Sandy Humes, a passenger, told Al Jazeera that she astir cancelled her travel owed to the hose cancellations.
“I don’t adjacent cognize what’s gonna happen, [but] past I conscionable decided, each right, we’re conscionable gonna spell for it and spot what happens. But it’s conscionable unexpected. I’m conscionable sick of it. It’s like, what astir us?” Humes said.
At the aforesaid airport, Vic Seested told Al Jazeera that the deficiency of accusation was “disappointing”.
“It means that Valentina, my youngest, my nine-year-old, was looking guardant to see[ing] maine for our day night, and present I whitethorn not spot her,” helium said.
Which different captious services person been affected by the authorities shutdown?
As good arsenic formation cancellations, the shutdown could besides impact much than 42 cardinal Americans who person benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP), besides known arsenic nutrient stamps.
The authorities had planned to frost payments altogether for the strategy erstwhile its backing ran retired astatine the extremity of October, but connected Monday, a national justice halted that determination and said the Trump medication indispensable supply the programme with exigency funds, astatine slightest partially.
Officials volition usage $4.65bn from the Department of Agriculture’s contingency money to enactment astir fractional of SNAP participants’ “current allotments”. Despite this, immoderate families whitethorn not person benefits for respective weeks, US media reported this week.
When volition services resume?
When the Republican and Democratic members of Congress o.k. the measure and backing is released for authorities services.
Tom Davis, a Republican South Carolina authorities senator, told Al Jazeera that portion the Republicans and the Democrats person got into standoffs before, “somebody ever blinks”.
“Traditionally, you walk what’s called a cleanable contingency resolution. You proceed past year’s backing levels until the caller levels are agreed to. Democrats person done this 12 times nether President [Joe] Biden, but they garbage to bash it nether President Trump. So [that’s] wherever we are astatine this point, and Republicans are not going to swallow the spending increase,” helium said, referring to the hold of healthcare benefits that Democrats are insisting on.
“But we beryllium present until idiosyncratic blinks,” helium added.

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