The United States is expected to see a 10% reduction in flights across 40 major airports, with the government shutdown passing the 35-day mark and becoming the longest in US history.
The move was announced by US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on November 5, with up to 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials working without pay, according to Reuters.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is also 3,500 air traffic controllers short of its staffing target, and with so much overtime, there are concerns about performance and, by extension, safety.
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“We’ve done a review of what our job is. Our job is to make sure we’re making the tough decisions to continue to keep the airspace safe,” said Duffy, who cited a confidential safety assessment highlighting potential declines in the performance of air traffic controllers.
Following up, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said, “When we see pressures building up in these 40 markets, we can’t just ignore it. We can take steps to prevent it from getting worse so the system is extremely safe today and will be extremely safe tomorrow.”
Which airports are affected?
Although the FAA said 40 U.S. aviation markets would be affected by the flight service cuts, it did not specify the airports by name.
But Reuters reported that the cuts are expected to affect 30 of the busiest airports in the US, including those serving New York City, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Dallas and the capital, Washington DC.
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The cuts are expected to reduce up to 1,800 flights and 268,000 flight seats, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
List of airports likely to be affected
The FAA categorizes the “busiest” airports in the US based on the number of annual enplanements.
As the expected cuts will affect some of the busiest airports, here is the full list of air transport hubs likely to be affected.
- Atlanta, GA: Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (52 511 402)
- Dallas/Fort Worth, TX: Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (42 351 316)
- Denver, CO: Denver International Airport (40 012 895)
- Chicago, IL: Chicago O’Hare International Airport (38,575,693)
- Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles International Airport (37 760 834)
- New York, NY: John F. Kennedy International Airport (31,466,102)
- Charlotte, NC: Charlotte/Douglas International Airport (28 523 822)
- Las Vegas, NV: Harry Reid International Airport (28,244,966)
- Orlando, FL: Orlando International Airport (27,859,783)
- Miami, FL: Miami International Airport (26 588 002)
- Phoenix, AZ: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (25,595,723)
- Seattle, WA: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (25,414,592)
- San Francisco, CA: San Francisco International Airport (25,078,968)
- Newark, NJ: Newark Liberty International Airport (24 544 320)
- Houston, TX: George Bush Intercontinental Airport (23,349,157)
- Boston, MA: Logan International Airport (21 090 721)
- Minneapolis, MN: Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport (18,054,481)
- Fort Lauderdale, FL: Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (17,096,131)
- New York, NY: LaGuardia Airport (16,715,567)
- Detroit, MI: Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (16,110,696)
- Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia International Airport (15,102,261)
- Salt Lake City, UT: Salt Lake City International Airport (13,543,570)
- Baltimore, MD: Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (12,686,220)
- San Diego, CA: San Diego International Airport (12,657,751)
- Tampa, FL: Tampa International Airport (12,506,000)
- Washington, DC: Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (12,473,080)
- Chicago, IL: Chicago Midway International Airport (11,850,713)
- Portland, OR: Portland International Airport (11,791,250)
- Austin, TX: Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (11 040 111)
- Dallas, TX: Dallas Love Field (8,932,185)
- Nashville, TN: Nashville International Airport (8,879,036)
- Honolulu, HI: Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (8,455,274)
- St. Louis, MO: St. Louis International Airport Louis Lambert (7,804,260)
- Kansas City, MO: Kansas City International Airport (7,705,389)
- Raleigh, NC: Raleigh-Durham International Airport (7,605,941)
- San Jose, CA: Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (7,092,752)
- Oakland, CA: Metropolitan Oakland International Airport (6,839,400)
- Indianapolis, IN: Indianapolis International Airport (6,569,723)
- New Orleans, LA: Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (6,478,574)
- Sacramento, CA: Sacramento International Airport (6,467,610)
(NOTE: List is based on 2024 FAA data)
What did the airlines say?
Although most airlines have yet to comment, American Airlines said at least the vast majority of its customers are unlikely to be affected.
Southwest Airlines, meanwhile, said it was evaluating the impact of the cuts on its flight schedule.
While the Associated Press reached out to other major carriers, such as Delta and United Airlines, they have yet to comment.
