O’Hare International Airport was leading the country with the most flight cancellations of any U.S. airport Friday, hours into the the Federal Aviation Administration’s unprecedented flight cuts amid a prolonged government shutdown and shortage of air traffic controllers.
But flight operations at O’Hare appeared smooth, despite 80 canceled flights and being listed as having the most cancellations in the country by the website FlightAware. The vast majority of travelers told a Sun-Times reporter that their flights were unaffected.
However, some travelers were still aggravated, caught unaware by last-minute flight cancellations — which affected 4% of all U.S. flights Friday.
One traveler said she had to scramble to re-book her canceled flight.
“I’m frustrated,” said Jade Virdi, 29, as she arrived to O’Hare from a business trip in Milwaukee.
American Airlines canceled her flight around 9 p.m. Thursday. She rushed to re-booked another American flight four hours earlier.
She said she sympathizes with the air traffic controllers, who have been working unpaid since Oct. 1 — the day the government shutdown began.
“If I wasn’t getting paid, I wouldn’t want to work either,” she said.
Jade Virdi, who had to rebook her American Airlines flight from Milwaukee, Wisc. to Chicago, Ill. because of a flight cancellation, speaks to a reporter at O’Hare International Airport on the day flight cuts by the Federal Aviation Administration went into effect amid a government shutdown, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
The FAA on Friday cut 4% of flights at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports, and plans to increase cuts to 10% by next Friday.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford has said the flight cuts were needed to address increased staffing pressures and safety reports indicating growing fatigue among air traffic controllers. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said he did not want to wait until the situation reached a crisis point.
Airlines said they are being strategic about cuts to affect and avoiding cancellations between connecting hubs. United Airlines, the largest carrier at O’Hare, said the cuts amounted to roughly 20 round-trip flights on Friday, but would rise to 50 flights next Friday.
By mid-afternoon Friday, 80 flights had been canceled at O’Hare and 18 flights canceled at Midway International Airport, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.
O’Hare had the most departing flights canceled in the country since Friday morning, with 40 flights canceled or about 3% of departures, according to FlightAware. Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta overtook O’Hare Friday afternoon as the airport with the most canceled arrivals, according to the website’s rankings.
Travelers flying out of Chicago on Thursday told the Sun-Times they were anxious to find out if their return flights would be canceled.
Many travelers Friday morning told the Sun-Times their flights had not been affected.
One man said the security line in Atlanta was the smoothest ever, thanks in part to the reduced number of flights.
“It was probably the best experience I ever had,” said Peter Husking, 49, who came to Chicago to celebrate his 50th birthday.
