WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that it was taking the extraordinary step of reducing air traffic by 10% across 40 “high-volume” markets beginning Friday morning to maintain travel safety as air traffic controllers exhibit signs of strain during the ongoing government shutdown.
The cutback stands to impact thousands of flights nationwide because the FAA directs more than 44,000 flights daily, including commercial passenger flights, cargo planes and private aircraft. The agency didn’t immediately identify which airports or cities will be affected but said the restrictions would remain in place as long as necessary.
“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,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said at a news conference.
Air traffic controllers have been working unpaid since the shutdown began Oct. 1, and most have been on duty six days a week while putting in mandatory overtime. With some calling out of work due to frustration, taking second jobs or not having money for child care or gas, staffing shortages during some shifts have led to flight delays at a number of U.S. airports.
Bedford, citing increased staffing pressures and safety reports indicating growing fatigue among air traffic controllers, said he and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy did not want to wait until the situation reached a crisis point.
“We’re not going to wait for a safety problem to truly manifest itself when the early indicators are telling us we can take action today to prevent things from deteriorating,” Bedford said. “The system is extremely safe today and will be extremely safe tomorrow. If the pressures continue to build even after we take these measures, we’ll come back and take additional measures.”
He and Duffy said they would meet with airline executives later Wednesday to determine how to implement the reduction in flights before a list of the selected airports would be released sometime Thursday.
It was not immediately clear how the flight restrictions would affect operations at O’Hare and Midway international airports.
The Chicago Department of Aviation, which operates O’Hare and Midway, said in a statement that it is “monitoring the situation closely and awaiting further details” on how the air traffic reduction may impact Chicago.
United Airlines, which uses O’Hare as its main hub, said schedule reductions will focus on regional flying and domestic mainline flights, and not on hub-to-hub flights or long-haul international flying. In a statement, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said customers traveling in this period are eligible for a refund, even if they purchased non-refundable tickets.
In their own statements, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines said they are waiting for additional information from the FAA about flight restrictions and would alert customers directly about flight changes.
The FAA’s 10% reduction in flights will create “a ripple effect,” said Joseph Schwieterman, a transportation expert and director of DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development.
Schwieterman said it’s hard to tell how airlines will select flights to cancel, but he anticipates “furious discussion behind the scenes” right now.
Planes often travel through multiple airports in a day rather than between two set stops, which requires more scheduling than other forms of transportation and makes mass cancellations difficult, Schwieterman said.
Airlines may need to consider connecting passengers to avoid stranding them at hub airports without ways to reach their final destinations, he said.
“This will be a soap opera,” Schwieterman said.
Airline industry analyst Henry Harteveldt, who is president of Atmosphere Research Group, said he thinks the government may have bungled this announcement by not meeting with airlines first and giving them more time to adjust schedules made months in advance.
“To tell airlines you’ve got 48 hours to rebuild your schedules at 90% of what you’ve got isn’t much time, and it’s going to result in a lot of chaos,” Harteveldt said. He added that the Trump administration may be using aviation safety “to force the two sides in Washington back to the negotiating table to resolve the shutdown.”
AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz advised travelers to watch for flight updates on the airline’s app and airport websites. She also recommended allowing plenty of time at the airport before a scheduled flight.
“It’s frustrating for travelers, because there’s not much you can do. At the end of the day, you either fly or you don’t,” she said.
The cuts could represent as many as 1,800 flights and upward of 268,000 seats combined, according to an estimate by aviation analytics firm Cirium. For example, O’Hare could see 121 of its 1,212 flights currently scheduled for Friday cut if the FAA distributes the reductions equally among impacted airports, Cirium said.