A Thousand Flights Canceled in the United States Amid Budget Stalemate

A thousand flights were canceled on Friday at U.S. airports due to an ongoing budget impasse, which has led authorities to reduce air traffic in response to a shortage of air traffic controllers.

As a safety measure, the Trump administration imposed a traffic reduction on Wednesday at forty of the busiest U.S. airports due to the lack of personnel in control towers, where staff have been asked to work unpaid for over five weeks because of the government shutdown.

International flights are not affected, confirmed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Friday.

Ravi, a businessman in his forties who arrived safely in New York from Canada on Friday, is scheduled to return to Miami on Sunday. "We hope not to be affected. I’m taking another flight. I don’t want to, but it’s already booked," he told AFP.

According to the tracking site FlightAware, around a thousand flights were canceled on Friday, with Washington (Reagan), Chicago O'Hare, and Atlanta being the hardest-hit airports. Approximately 700 cancellations are expected for Saturday.

Reagan Airport in the capital warned on social media in the afternoon to "expect significant delays and cancellations in the evening due to reduced air traffic."

Domestic and Regional Flights

According to the Transportation Department, air traffic was reduced by 4% on Friday, projected to be reduced by 6% on Tuesday and potentially up to 10% in a week if the budget stalemate continues.

From Miami Airport, 78-year-old Jose Rincon anticipates "a lot of problems starting this weekend." "And I don’t understand why the government is allowing the blockade to last, especially for something as essential as the safety and comfort of passengers," he expressed to AFP.

"Reducing flights, if it's a matter of safety, is absolutely necessary, but we should never have reached this point," lamented Elvira Buchi, who came to pick up her daughter at La Guardia Airport in New York.

As of Friday, the budget stalemate is in its 38th day, marking the longest in U.S. history, with Republican and Democratic lawmakers unable to agree on a new budget.

United Airlines stated that cancellations are focusing on "domestic and regional flights that do not connect to our airport hubs."

These disruptions add to the lengthy lines at security checkpoints managed by agents who have also been unpaid for over a month.

"It’s a lot to ask"

These issues arise just before a weekend that many Americans will extend until Tuesday, November 11, a holiday in the United States. They also come as Thanksgiving approaches, a major family holiday for which millions of Americans fly every year on November 27.

"If you need to attend a wedding, a funeral, or something important in the coming days, considering the risk of flight cancellations, I would advise purchasing a backup ticket on another airline," suggested Barry Biffle, CEO of the low-cost airline Frontier, on social media.

For illustration, the U.S. aviation regulator (FAA) explained on October 31 that half of the 30 major airports "are experiencing staffing shortages" and that nearly 80% of air traffic controllers were absent at New York airports. "After 31 days without pay, air traffic controllers are under immense stress and fatigue."

"It’s a lot to ask to work under pressure without being paid," emphasized 81-year-old Kathleen, who arrived in New York from St. Louis, Missouri.

About 14,000 air traffic controllers monitor U.S. airspace. Each day, more than three million passengers fly in the United States, with over 44,000 flights on average, according to the FAA.