U.S. flight cancellations begin after FAA shutdown order

U.S. airlines started canceling hundreds of flights on Friday, hours after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered the cuts amid the more-than-monthlong government shutdown.

The reductions were ordered as air traffic controllers have missed their paychecks due to the government shutdown, now the longest in U.S. history. Air traffic control staffing shortages have been disrupting flights at several major U.S. airports, vexing travelers and airline executives alike.

Air traffic controller shortages were delaying flights at several major U.S. airports on Friday, including Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, San Francisco International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.

The sudden flight cuts this week forced airlines to scramble with schedule adjustments and making sure crews are where they need to be despite the last-minute changes.

Roughly 780 U.S. flights were canceled as of 2 p.m. ET Friday, according to aviation data firm Cirium, about 3% of the total schedule for the day. That scale of disruption is fairly common for routine disruptions like major thunderstorms, but the Department of Transportation warned that cancellations could ramp up.

According to the FAA’s order, the flight cuts will increase to 10% over the next week, beginning with 4% on Friday, 6% by Tuesday, 8% by Thursday and finally 10% on Nov. 14.

Friday’s cancellation levels were the 72nd worst for the U.S. flights market since Jan. 1, 2024, according to Cirium. That period also included a Southwest Airlines Christmas meltdown after severe weather and mass delays at Delta Air Lines last summer in the wake of a CrowdStrike tech outage.

While the FAA required airlines to make cuts, the general aviation sector, which includes private jets, was not required to make similarly broad cuts. The order, however, said that staffing shortages could affect general aviation and that those private flights could face up to 10% cuts at airports that the agency designated “high-impact,” including New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport and Texas’ William P. Hobby Airport in Houston and Dallas Love Field.

The FAA didn’t respond to requests for comment.

A spokesman for the National Business Aviation Association said the industry is also affected by air traffic staffing shortages and reduced capacity, and that airports could deny some airplanes the ability to land there.

NBAA’s president and CEO Ed Bolen said that “our sector will continue to pursue mandatory and voluntary means to ensure we are part of the solution to the challenges posed in the current environment.”

The financial impact of the latest disruptions isn’t immediately clear. The cancellations could help lift airlines’ unit revenue with customers competing for fewer seats, “but we also believe the prolonged shutdown and widespread cancelations…