A Republic Airways plane takes off near the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.
Samuel Corum | Bloomberg | Getty Images
U.S. airlines will have to cut hundreds more flights next week if Congress can’t come to a solution to end the government shutdown, now the longest in U.S. history.
Trump administration officials this week ordered airlines to start cutting flights at 40 busy U.S. airports on Friday, blaming “increased reports of strain on the system from both pilots and air traffic controllers.”
Air traffic controllers, along with airport security screeners, are required to work during the shutdown without receiving their regular paychecks. Federal workers will miss their second full paycheck on Monday, according to their union. Some controllers have taken second jobs to make ends meet, union officials have said.
On Saturday, 931 U.S. flights were canceled out of 25,375, according to aviation-data firm Cirium. That share of cancellations was on par with severe thunderstorms, which can be disruptive, though they’re routine. Cirium said Friday that it ranked as the 72nd worst since Jan. 1, 2024.
Under the FAA’s order, the flight cuts will increase to 6% of schedules, 8% by Thursday and 10% next Friday. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Fox News on Friday that cuts could eventually reach up to 20% of schedules, although he didn’t elaborate.
The disruptions are occurring at a generally low travel season, but the key Thanksgiving holiday weekend is less than three weeks away. The impact for airlines could quadruple given how fares during that high-demand period spike, Seaport Research Partners airline analyst Daniel McKenzie said in a note on Friday.
Airlines this week waived date-change fees for travelers on affected flights and noted they can also request a refund. Airline executives stated that many customers were being rebooked on alternative flights, while last-minute changes sent others scrambling for other arrangements. Hertz, for example, stated on Thursday that, when the FAA made its flight-cut announcement, one-way car rentals increased by 20% over the same two-day period a year earlier.
Delays were also on the rise, with 2,156 late flights, according to FlightAware. Air traffic control staffing shortages on Saturday prompted delays at airports including San Francisco International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, and Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
