Transportation secretary announces 10% reduction in U.S. air traffic due to government shutdown

Federal officials announced that the U.S. will reduce air traffic by 10% across 40 “high-volume” markets starting on Friday, citing staffing shortages related to the ongoing government shutdown.

“We have decided that a 10% reduction in scheduled capacity would be appropriate to continue to take the pressure off of our controllers,” Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Bryan Bedford said at a press conference on Wednesday. 

Bedford and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the new measures are necessary to keep air travel safe, as pressures on air traffic controllers mount during the longest government shutdown in history. 

Bedford said he would specify which 40 markets around the country will be affected on Thursday, adding that the restrictions will affect commercial airspace and other activities, including space launches. 

A source late Wednesday night provided CBS News with a proposed list of the 40 markets that included major hubs such as Boston Logan International, New York LaGuardia, Los Angeles International and Dallas/Fort Worth International. The provided list was not final and could change. 

More air traffic controllers are exhibiting fatigue as they work without pay during the congressional stalemate, now in its 36th day, Bedford added. Thursday will mark one month since controllers were last paid. 

Airlines, aviation unions and the wider travel industry have urged Congress to end the shutdown.

More than 10,000 flights within, into or out of the U.S. experienced delays last weekend, while roughly 11,000 trips have been delayed this week, according to tracking service FlightAware. 

The U.S. struggled to recruit sufficient numbers of air traffic controllers even before the shutdown began, with Duffy saying that the country needs an additional 2,000 controllers.  

Bedford and Duffy said they would consult later Wednesday with airline industry executives to discuss how to safely implement the reduction in flights.

“The early indicators are telling us we can take action today to prevent things from deteriorating,” Bedford said.

The cuts will likely be phased in beginning Friday, according to two sources familiar with the contents of a call held later Wednesday between the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Transportation and airline representatives.

The airlines have yet to receive an official order from the FAA laying out the requirements of the capacity reduction, but are operating under the understanding they will need to reduce their schedules by at least 4% on Friday, at least 5% on Saturday and hit the 10% mark for next week in those 40 markets, the sources said. Since the FAA order has not been issued, this could still change.

The two sources said the switch to a phased-in approach may come about out of concern that the request to slash complex airline schedules in 48 hours was going to be fraught with the potential of major disruptions for flyers.

CBS News has reached out to DOT for comment on the details of the capacity reduction. When reached by CBS News, the FAA deferred to DOT.

Several airline sources described to CBS News confusion over how the reduction will be applied, by what mechanism, and if it is going to be tied to actual staffing levels.

The decision caught airlines by surprise, and they are now scrambling to make plans, the airline sources said. 

In a statement Wednesday night, American Airlines said that it would operate “as planned” on Thursday, but that it was “awaiting additional information from the FAA to determine which flights will be impacted” on Friday, but that it expected “the vast majority of our customers’ travel will be unaffected.”

United Airlines said in a statement that it will update its schedule once the flight reductions begin so the carrier can notify customers of any changes “several days” in advance.