U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday he would ground 10 percent of flights at 40 major U.S. airports starting Friday if no deal is reached to end the federal government shutdown.
The shutdown, now in its 36th day and the longest in US history, has forced 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration agents to work without pay, Reuters reported.
This exacerbated staff shortages, caused extensive flight delays and lengthened lines at airport security.
“We did a review, which is our job,” Duffy told reporters, explaining why he made the decision.
Reuters previously reported on the plan.
Which US airports are affected?
While the government did not name the 40 airports affected, the cuts were expected to affect the 30 busiest airports, including those serving New York City, Washington, DC, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Dallas.
That would cut up to 1,800 flights and more than 268,000 airplane seats, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
The aim of this step is to reduce pressure on air traffic controllers.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration also warned that it may add more flight restrictions after Friday if more air traffic problems arise.
Airlines for America, a trade group representing major U.S. carriers such as Delta, United, American and Southwest, said its members are trying to understand the next steps.
“We are working with the federal government to understand all the details of the new emissions reduction mandate and will work to mitigate the impacts on passengers and carriers,” the statement said.
According to industry sources, the FAA was scheduled to hold a call with airlines Wednesday night to explain how the cuts would be implemented.
The federal government is mostly shut down as Republicans and Democrats are deadlocked in Congress over a funding bill. Democrats insisted they would not approve a plan that did not expand health insurance subsidies, while Republicans rejected it.
President Donald Trump and Republicans have tried to ratchet up the pressure on Democrats by increasing the pain average Americans are feeling from the government shutdown.
The shutdown, which began on Oct. 1, left many low-income Americans without food assistance, closed many government services and led to the layoff of about 750,000 federal employees.
Duffy warned on Tuesday that if the federal government shutdown continued for another week, it could lead to “mass chaos” and force it to close part of the nation’s airspace to air traffic.
Airlines have repeatedly urged an end to the shutdown, citing aviation security risks.
Shares of major airlines including United and American were down about 1% in extended trading.
An airline industry group estimated that more than 3.2 million passengers were affected by flight delays or cancellations due to the increasing absence of air traffic controllers during the shutdown. Airlines alert lawmakers to traffic impacts.
Airlines said the shutdown had not significantly affected their business, but warned that bookings could fall if it drags on. More than 2,100 flights were delayed on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said 20% to 40% of dispatchers at the agency’s 30 largest airports have not shown up for work. Duffy said authorities will also limit space launches to certain times of the day. (Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago; Editing by Chris Sanders and Cynthia Osterman)
