FAA Cuts Air Traffic 10% Across 40 Markets Amid Shutdown

(UNITED STATES) The Federal Aviation Administration will cut air traffic by 10% across 40 of the nation’s busiest markets starting Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, as the government shutdown strains the ranks of unpaid controllers and delays mount at major airports. The move, announced Wednesday, is designed to keep skies safe while staffing thins and some controllers refuse overtime or call out amid missed paychecks.

“We’re not going to wait for a problem to act,” said Bryan Bedford, the FAA administrator, who acknowledged rising pressure inside control facilities during the shutdown and said “we can’t ignore it.”

The agency said the 10% reduction will apply to high-volume markets, though it did not list specific cities, and warned that the cutback will ripple across the network as schedules are thinned and crews and planes fall out of place.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy plans to meet airline leaders to coordinate how the reduction will be carried out and to discuss steps carriers can take to smooth operations while the government shutdown persists. Bedford and Duffy will lead those discussions, according to the FAA, with a focus on staging flight reductions in a way that protects safety without triggering unnecessary cancellations.

The decision marks a rare nationwide pullback by the FAA in peacetime to manage strain inside its air traffic system. According to the agency’s shutdown plan, 13,294 air traffic controllers are “excepted” from furloughs because their work is considered essential, but they are not being paid during the lapse in funding. Another 11,322 FAA employees are furloughed, thinning support staff who keep facilities running and slowing training, certifications, and technical maintenance. The FAA said that keeping traffic levels slightly lower will allow supervisors to build schedules that avoid fatigue and gaps in coverage.

Over the past week, some controllers have begun calling out sick or declining overtime assignments, and airlines have reported growing delays at major hubs. At Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, one of the system’s busiest nodes, arriving United Airlines flights on Monday, Nov. 3, faced delays as staffing shortages spread through approach and tower operations. With the FAA now planning a formal reduction, carriers are bracing for longer taxi times, missed connections, and an uptick in cancellations as they rework their schedules.

An airline industry group estimates that more than 3.2 million passengers have already been affected by delays or cancellations tied to the strain on air traffic facilities since the shutdown began. With Friday’s change, the total is expected to climb, especially in those high-volume markets that funnel traffic across the country. Airlines are preparing to notify customers of schedule changes and to waive some change fees, though they have not released detailed plans while they wait for the FAA’s final allocation of reduced slots.

Bedford said the agency is acting preemptively to prevent close calls or errors that could follow long shifts and short staffing. The FAA’s shutdown order classifies air traffic control as “excepted activities,” meaning controllers must report to work even without pay until Congress restores funding. But as the days stretch on, the agency has been forced to manage a workforce under stress while trying to maintain normal traffic loads. Reducing traffic by 10% is intended to provide a buffer so that any unplanned absences do not push facilities beyond safe staffing levels.

The cuts will take effect Friday morning and focus on 40 high-volume markets, a designation that typically includes regions with multiple busy airports and complex routes. Even without a city-by-city list, the FAA signaled that hubs with the most traffic and the tightest staffing will feel the change first, cascading across airlines’ networks as flights are spaced further apart. Because delays in one market can snowball throughout the day and into the next, the agency hopes that a planned reduction will be less disruptive than unmanaged slowdowns that create unpredictable choke points.

The shutdown’s impact on the FAA extends beyond the controllers in towers and radar rooms. With non-essential staff furloughed, fewer technicians are available to service critical radar, radio, and navigation systems, and administrative support is limited. The FAA said the combination of unpaid essential staff and furloughed support increases risk if traffic continues at normal levels. By trimming schedules now, the agency says it can lower the chance that overworked or undermanned facilities face safety lapses.

Airlines were told to prepare for higher ground delays and controlled departure times as part of the cutback. These traffic management initiatives allow the FAA to meter flights into busy airspace and reduce the load on overtaxed sectors. Pilots and dispatchers were advised that even minor weather events could have a larger effect on operations under the reduced flow, potentially leading to rolling delays through the weekend as the system adjusts to the new plan.

The government shutdown has also stalled FAA training pipelines, limiting the agency’s ability to plug holes with newly qualified controllers. Even under normal funding, the controller workforce has been tight, and the shutdown has erased overtime and training days that facilities rely on to maintain coverage. The FAA noted that overtime refusals have climbed as controllers try to manage stress and personal finances without pay, adding to the strain at high-traffic facilities that already run close to their staffing limits.

Some of the most prominent choke points in the United States are already seeing effects that predate Friday’s formal reduction. In the New York area, even small staffing gaps can force miles-in-trail spacing between flights and push departure banks into later windows. At Chicago O’Hare, delays ripple quickly through midwestern connections. On the West Coast, a shortage of approach and en-route controllers can choke routes into and out of California. The FAA’s plan is meant to maintain an orderly flow through these areas rather than allow ad hoc slowdowns to pile up unpredictably.

Passenger groups warned that the change would be felt most by travelers on connecting itineraries, where a missed first leg can upend the entire day. Families returning from school breaks and business travelers on tight schedules are expected to bear many of the costs, particularly if crews “time out” under federal duty limits while waiting on the ground. Airlines have urged customers to check their flight status frequently and to expect longer lines at security and customer service counters as rebookings surge.

The broader aviation system is built on tight margins, and a 10% trim in certain markets can have outsize effects when traffic is already near capacity. Aircraft rotations, crew assignments, and gate availability all depend on precise timing, and once delays pass a certain point, cancellations become the only way to reset the system. The FAA acknowledged that while the reduction is aimed at safety, it will likely mean more cancellations in the near term, especially during peak periods and in markets with constrained runway capacity.

Bedford’s warning underscored a simple message: safety comes first, even if that means fewer flights during the shutdown.

“We’re not going to wait for a problem to act,” he said, adding that “we can’t ignore it.”

The FAA has urged Congress to resolve the funding lapse to restore pay for controllers and bring back furloughed employees who support daily operations. Until then, the reduced schedule will remain in place as needed to match staffing and keep controllers from working beyond safe limits.

The Transportation Department said Secretary Duffy will press airlines to prioritize transparent communication with customers, proactive rebooking, and careful scheduling around known bottlenecks. Industry officials said they would ask the FAA for clarity on how the 10% figure will be applied across markets and time periods, and whether cargo flights or general aviation are included in the calculation. Airlines also want a clear process for adjusting the plan if the shutdown ends quickly or if staffing worsens.

While the FAA has not published a city-by-city breakdown, the agency pointed to its existing framework for handling lapses in appropriations, which keeps essential safety functions running while trimming non-urgent work. The framework outlines how “excepted activities” continue, what roles are furloughed, and how the agency prioritizes resources. The plan is part of the FAA’s standard preparation for funding lapses and is referenced in public materials on the agency’s website. For official guidance on safety-critical operations during a funding lapse, the FAA directs the public to the Federal Aviation Administration.

For now, the message to travelers is to expect longer journey times and to keep a close eye on flight updates starting Friday morning. The FAA’s 10% cut in air traffic is intended to provide breathing room for stressed facilities and unpaid controllers, but it will not spare the system from pain while the government shutdown continues. Airline planners are redrawing schedules market by market, the FAA is metering the flow to match available personnel, and passengers are set to feel the knock-on effects through the weekend and beyond.

By moving early, the FAA hopes to avoid a worst-case scenario: overworked controllers handling peak loads without adequate support. The agency’s calculus is that a controlled slowdown now is safer than a chaotic one later. As long as funding is frozen and paychecks do not go out, those working the nation’s airspace will remain under pressure. Whether Congress restores funding soon or the shutdown drags on, the next few days will test how well the nation’s air traffic system can hold together with fewer flights, fewer hands, and little margin for error.