FAA Cuts Flights by 10% at 40 Major Airports Amid Shutdown

(UNITED STATES) The FAA will impose rolling flight cuts at 40 major U.S. airports starting Thursday, a phased plan that begins with a 4% reduction on November 7 and reaches 10% by November 14, as the government shutdown enters its sixth week and air traffic controller fatigue deepens. The emergency move, outlined in an agency order, affects some of the nation’s busiest hubs from Atlanta and Dallas/Fort Worth to Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Washington, as well as cargo centers like Memphis and Louisville. Airlines have warned of wider ripple effects as schedules are trimmed, seats disappear, and the Thanksgiving travel rush draws closer. International flights are not affected by these cuts.

Why the cuts are being imposed

Officials say the thinning ranks and rising exhaustion among controllers—many working six days a week and unpaid since October 1—have left the system strained. The FAA framed the decision as a safety measure, noting:

“With continued delays and unpredictable staffing shortages, which are driving fatigue, risk is further increasing, and the FAA is concerned with the system’s ability to maintain the current volume of operations.”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned of the operational impacts: “This is going to lead to more cancellations,” and cautioned about potential “mass chaos” if staffing continues to slide while critical workers miss paychecks.

Phased schedule and data-driven approach

The agency’s phased schedule begins at 6 a.m. EST on November 7:

1. November 7 — 4% reduction
2. November 11 — 6% reduction
3. November 13 — 8% reduction
4. November 14 — 10% reduction

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the FAA will monitor conditions and adjust limits based on data and staffing:

“We are going to use data. The data will dictate what we do… if the data goes in the wrong direction, could you see additional restrictions? Yes… if the data goes in the right direction, we will roll this back, but it’s going to be data driven, safety driven.”

Airports and scale of the cuts

Hubs targeted include:

• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (ATL)
• Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)
• Denver (DEN)
• Los Angeles (LAX)
• Charlotte Douglas (CLT)
• New York — JFK, LaGuardia (LGA), Newark (EWR)
• Houston — IAH, HOU
• Chicago — ORD, MDW
• Washington — DCA, IAD
• Boston Logan (BOS)
• Baltimore/Washington (BWI)
• Orlando (MCO)
• Miami (MIA)
• Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX)
• Seattle/Tacoma (SEA)
• Honolulu (HNL)
• Las Vegas (LAS)
• San Francisco (SFO)
• Memphis (MEM)
• Louisville (SDF)

According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, the peak 10% reduction could remove up to 1,800 flights and 268,000 seats per day. On the first day alone, more than 790 flights were canceled, stranding passengers and crowding rebooked flights.

Airline responses and penalties

Airlines acted quickly to trim schedules and adapt operations:

• Delta canceled about 170 flights on Friday
• Southwest pulled roughly 120
• American cut about 220
• United said it would remove about 4% of its trips (precise numbers pending)

Carriers also said they would:

• Consolidate frequencies
• Use larger aircraft where possible
• Prioritize rebooking flyers on remaining services

The FAA warned that airlines operating above imposed limits face a fine of $75,000 per flight.

Analysis by VisaVerge.com suggests the combination of caps, staffing shortfalls, and surging holiday demand could create rolling disruptions across multiple hubs, especially in the mornings and late afternoons when schedules bunch.

Passenger impacts and human stories

The order is being felt intensely by travelers:

• Families trying to reach loved ones before Thanksgiving are seeing trips pushed to later flights or different days.
• Business travelers are forced to hold meetings by video after last-minute cancellations.
• One Boston passenger, rebooked twice, described a line that “just kept growing.” She eventually found seats three days later at a different airport.

For many, frustration is compounded by the uncertainty of a government shutdown with no clear end date.

Controller working conditions and operational adjustments

Controllers describe a workplace under mounting stress:

• Many are on mandatory overtime, working six-day weeks.
• Rising call-outs occur from colleagues who are exhausted or can’t afford to keep showing up without pay.
• Supervisors at busy facilities report longer intervals between takeoffs and landings to reduce pressure and preserve safety margins.

The FAA’s emergency order aims to formalize those adjustments systemwide. The agency also instructed airlines to submit daily lists of reduced operations to FAA Slot Administration at [email protected], part of a daily coordination effort to keep caps aligned with staffing.

Impact on cargo and supply chains

The cargo sector is bracing for delivery snarls:

• Memphis (FedEx global hub) and Louisville (UPS Worldport) fall under the cuts.
• Slower sort cycles can cascade into missed truck connections and late door-to-door deliveries nationwide.
• Retailers, already under holiday shipping pressure, could face tighter windows and missed deadlines.

Analysts note that a 10% cap on peak waves can produce outsized impacts on time-sensitive overnight networks. While passenger carriers can sometimes use larger jets to absorb capacity, cargo schedules are less flexible—built around timed sort operations and strict contract guarantees.

Travel planning advice and likely hotspots

Airlines and airports are notifying travelers to expect delays and urging them to:

• Check flight status frequently
• Expect earlier-day notifications when cuts occur, to reduce last-minute chaos

Cirium’s models highlight the greatest pinch points:

• Northeast corridor
• Large connecting hubs where a canceled feeder flight can strand passengers far from final destinations

Families may be split across multiple flights with limited options to sit together as planes fill.

Temporary nature and next steps

The FAA stressed that the move is a temporary safety measure tied to extraordinary staffing strain caused by the government shutdown. The agency will reassess as data comes in and adjust as needed.

• For official updates, travelers and employers can monitor the FAA’s notices and safety bulletins on the agency’s website at FAA.gov.
• The order does not cover international flights, which will continue operating normally, though missed domestic connections may still disrupt international itineraries for U.S.-based travelers.

Political and social consequences

Lawmakers continue to trade barbs over the lapse in funding, but for travelers the debate is secondary to practical impacts:

• Parents juggle childcare after unexpected schedule changes
• Students face sold-out days trying to return to campus
• Workers living paycheck to paycheck call in from the tarmac to explain why they can’t make shifts

The longer the shutdown persists, the greater the accumulation of missed moments and cascading disruptions.

Outlook

As the 10% cap takes hold on November 14, the industry will watch whether staffing stabilizes or whether more aggressive measures are needed. For now:

• The FAA insists safety comes first and decisions will be data-driven
• Airlines warn that if the shutdown continues, even carefully managed cuts can only mitigate—never fully prevent—system strain

Passengers, caught in the middle, are left checking options on their phones, hoping for a seat that still moves and a schedule that still holds.