United States: Government Shutdown Disrupts Air Travel and Affects Thousands of Passengers
The United States is experiencing an unprecedented government shutdown due to ongoing financial stalemate in Congress, causing severe disruptions in the air transport sector, including the cancellation or delay of hundreds of flights across the country.
According to the specialized site FlightAware, over 1,400 flights were canceled on Sunday as a result of a gradual reduction in air traffic imposed by federal authorities, who ordered a 10% cut in flights at 40 major airports to alleviate pressure on air traffic controllers working without pay since the shutdown began.
Airlines started to implement the plan gradually on Friday, initially reducing flights by 4%, which will increase daily by 2% until the targeted reduction is reached.
US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy stated in an interview with Fox News that “air traffic will gradually decline at a time when millions of Americans are looking to travel for Thanksgiving,” emphasizing that “the decreasing number of available controllers necessarily means fewer takeoffs and landings.”
Several airlines have indicated that the cuts are focused on regional domestic flights, threatening significant impact on small local airports that primarily rely on this type of service.
Security checkpoints at airports are also experiencing severe congestion, as Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel continue to perform their duties without pay for over a month.
This situation has persisted since October 1, marking the start of the longest financial shutdown in US history, which has forced hundreds of thousands of federal employees to work without pay, crippling essential services, including air traffic control.
