The Federal Aviation Administration announced plans this week to reduce air traffic capacity by roughly 10% at 40 major U.S. airports as the ongoing government shutdown continues to strain air travel.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, air travel has been one of the industries most heavily impacted by the government shutdown, with over 10,000 delays and more than 400 cancellations reported over the weekend.
Now, the FAA has officially confirmed that 40 of the country’s largest airports will experience a 10% reduction in flights.
The full list of airports, according to The Hill, affected by this reduction is as follows:
- Anchorage International (ANC)
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL)
- Boston Logan International (BOS)
- Baltimore/Washington International (BWI)
- Charlotte Douglas International (CLT)
- Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG)
- Dallas Love-Field (DAL)
- Reagan Washington National (DCA)
- Denver International (DEN)
- Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW)
- Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW)
- Newark Liberty International (EWR)
- Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International (FLL)
- Honolulu International (HNL)
- Houston Hobby (HOU)
- Washington Dulles International (IAD)
- George Bush Houston Intercontinental (IAH)
- Indianapolis International (IND)
- New York John F. Kennedy International (JFK)
- Las Vegas Harry Reid International (LAS)
- Los Angeles International (LAX)
- New York LaGuardia (LGA)
- Orlando International (MCO)
- Chicago Midway (MDW)
- Memphis International (MEM)
- Miami International (MIA)
- Minneapolis/St. Paul International (MSP)
- Oakland International (OAK)
- Ontario International (ONT)
- Chicago O’Hare International (ORD)
- Portland International (PDX)
- Philadelphia International (PHL)
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX)
- San Diego International (SAN)
- Louisville International (SDF)
- Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA)
- San Francisco International (SFO)
- Salt Lake City International (SLC)
- Teterboro (TEB)
- Tampa International (TPA)
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the measures are unprecedented but necessary to maintain safety in an increasingly stressed system.
“I’m not aware in my 35-year history in the aviation market where we’ve had a situation where we’re taking these kinds of measures,” Bedford said, as reported by the Associated Press. “We’re in new territory in terms of government shutdowns.”
Bedford and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have stated that they plan to meet with airline leaders to help determine the best way to implement these reductions.
Currently, the plan is to begin the reductions at 4% on Friday and scale up the reductions as the shutdown continues, according to The Hill.
A recent estimate for these cuts found that as many as 1,800 flights and upwards of 268,000 passengers could be affected, according to The AP.
One air traffic controller said the government shutdown is reaching a “tipping point” for air travel, adding that many of the FAA workers have “started getting fed up with” the issues, according to NPR.
These comments follow shortly after Duffy warned about potential airspace closures nationwide, citing a shortage of air traffic controllers and compromised safety for flights, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
FAA workers were initially designated to receive a paycheck on October 28, but those paychecks were not sent out due to the ongoing government shutdown.
Now, FAA workers are expected to miss another paycheck next week, which will likely result in many being unable to remain in their posts without pay.
“With this shutdown, it would be dishonest to say that more risk is not injected into the system. There is more risk in the system,” said Duffy when highlighting the need for reduced air travel during the shutdown, as reported by DX.