The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Wednesday that it would cut 10% of air traffic at 40 of the country’s busiest airports beginning Friday, a move that could lead to the cancellation of thousands of flights nationwide.
Full list of affected airports
Update 2:03 p.m. ET, Nov. 6: The Associated Press has compiled the complete list of 40 airports that will be affected.
- Anchorage International in Alaska
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International in Georgia
- Boston Logan International in Massachusetts
- Baltimore/Washington International in Maryland
- Charlotte Douglas International in North Carolina
- Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International in Ohio
- Dallas Love Field in Texas
- Ronald Reagan Washington National in Virginia
- Denver International in Colorado
- Dallas/Fort Worth International in Texas
- Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County in Michigan
- Newark Liberty International in New Jersey
- Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International in Florida
- Honolulu International in Hawaii
- Houston Hobby in Texas
- Washington Dulles International in Virginia
- George Bush Houston Intercontinental in Texas
- Indianapolis International in Indiana
- John F. Kennedy International in New York
- Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas
- Los Angeles International in California
- LaGuardia Airport in New York
- Orlando International in Florida
- Chicago Midway International in Illinois
- Memphis International in Tennessee
- Miami International in Florida
- Minneapolis/St Paul International in Minnesota
- Oakland International in California
- Ontario International in California
- Chicago O`Hare International in Illinois
- Portland International in Oregon
- Philadelphia International in Pennsylvania
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International in Arizona
- San Diego International in California
- Louisville International in Kentucky
- Seattle/Tacoma International in Washington
- San Francisco International in California
- Salt Lake City International in Utah
- Teterboro in New Jersey
- Tampa International in Florida
[ FAA traffic reduction: What is each airline doing? ]
Orlando, Miami among Florida cities on list
Update 10:50 a.m. ET Nov. 6: WFTV reports that Orlando’s airport will be among those impacted by the flight reductions.
Other cities include Denver, Miami, San Francisco and the two airports in Houston, according to The Associated Press.
Atlanta, Boston on list of reduced flights
Update 10:36 a.m. ET Nov. 6: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is one of 40 airports in the U.S. that will see a 10% reduction of flights by the Federal Aviation Administration if the government shutdown continues, WSB-TV reported.
Logan International Airport in Boston is also on the list, WFXT reported.
Flights from NY, LA, Chicago airports cut
Update 10:28 a.m. ET Nov. 6: Airports in the New York metropolitan area, Los Angeles and Chicago are among the 40 airports that will have flights cut beginning on Friday, The Associated Press reported.
Hubs across the U.S. will also have flights scaled back, the AP reported, citing a list that was distributed to airlines on Thursday.
[ FAA traffic cuts: What rights do passengers have? ]
Original report: The move was announced as the Trump administration continued to pressure Democrats to end the government shutdown. The scaling down of flights could force air travelers to change plans at the last minute and could cause negative economic impacts nationally as the shutdown entered its record 37th day on Thursday.
The dramatic action is poised to cause major travel headaches and potential economic impacts for Americans amid the ongoing federal shutdown.
“I think it’s going to lead to more cancellations,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said during a news conference.
Duffy said the reductions were made to “alleviate the pressure” on air traffic controllers, who have not received a paycheck since mid-October and have been working without compensation since the shutdown began. He added that the affected markets would be announced on Thursday.
The FAA oversees more than 44,000 flights daily, including commercial passenger flights, cargo planes and private aircraft. The agency said the restrictions would remain in place as long as necessary.
For years, the FAA has identified 30 airports as being “core” facilities. They include sites in Atlanta, Boston, New York City, Dallas-Fort Worth and the Washington, D.C., area.
On Friday, the FAA said that half of the nation’s busiest airports — including the three in the New York metropolitan area and three serving Washington D.C. — were experiencing staffing shortages.
Earlier this week, Duffy warned about “mass chaos” if the shutdown continued, adding that the FAA could close parts of the nation’s airspace to traffic to avoid deeper problems.
“We’re not going to wait for a safety problem to truly manifest itself when the early indicators tell us we can take action today,” FAA chief Bryan Bedford said at the news conference. “The system is extremely safe today and will be extremely safe tomorrow. If the pressures continue to build even after we take these measures, we’ll come back and take additional measures.”
According to The New York Times, the FAA told airline industry officials that the cuts would begin with a 4% reduction on Friday and reach 10% by next week.
The reductions on short notice are likely to have an economic effect, Patrick Anderson, the chief executive of the Anderson Economic Group consulting firm in Michigan, told the newspaper.
“Delays have what we call ‘network effects’ in business economics,” Anderson said in an emailed statement. “Hold up a bunch of planes in one airport, and you get a cascading effect down the line.”
Bedford, a 35-year veteran of the aviation industry, said the moves were unprecedented, but added that the situation caused by the shutdown called for drastic action.
“We’re in new territory in terms of government shutdowns,” he said. “These are unusual times, and we look forward to a time when we can get back to business as usual.”