Flight cancellation updates: FAA’s government shutdown traffic reduction continues

Those wealthy enough to travel on private planes during the government shutdown are not without some level of inconvenience.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Satuday that the Federal Aviation Administration is requiring private jets to reroute to smaller airports so the limited number of available air traffic controllers can focus on triaging commercial flights.

Some essential airport workers, including air traffic controllers, who are paid through the Federal Aviation Administration using federal funds, have now gone without a paycheck for 38 days thanks to the government shutdown.

Many of those employees have stopped showing up for work, forcing the FAA to cancel over 2,000 flights this weekend. While travelers navigate the chaos, those airport workers are navigating their own survival.

Airports across the countrty are now rallying to collect food donations to help support those unpaid employees. Airports in Orlando, Cleveland, San Jose, and elsewhere are organizing donations through the hashtag #AirportsInAction.

Cleveland’s airport is partnering with a global relief organization to support its workers.

A former TSA officer who now publishes a travel industry newsletter has also been raising funds for his former TSA colleagues who are struggling to afford gas to get to work.

Caleb Harmon-Marshall has so far raised over $4,000 through a PayPal donation campaign.

Some 900 flights across the US were grounded on Friday. Another 800 on Saturday. And, so far, nearly 650 flights have been canceled on Sunday, according to data analytics firm Cirium. Here’s a look at the number of cancellations affecting major airlines.

Roughly 800 flights have been canceled as of 8:45 a.m. ET on Saturday, according to new data from Cirium.

American, Delta, United, and Southwest Airlines are among the most affected carriers. More than 900 flights were also canceled on Friday.

Speaking to Fox News on Friday, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said flight cancellations could rise as high as 20% if the government shutdown goes on.

“If this shutdown doesn’t end relatively soon, the consequence of that is going to be more controllers don’t come to work,” he said.

“I don’t want to see that.”

Delta has said it is “temporarily reducing flights” across 40 US airports in line with federal directives.

“All planned FAA-directed flight cancellations for Nov. 7-9 have been completed,” the airline added in an update on Friday.

American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines were among the hardest hit carriers on Friday.

Passengers faced delays and cancellations at major flight hubs such as Atlanta, Chicago, and Denver.

If you’ve been caught in the chaos, let us know.

Staffing shortages among air traffic controllers, who have been working without pay since the start of October, have grown worse as the government shutdown has stretched on, with increasing numbers calling in sick.

In response, the FAA has moved to reduce flight operations as it works to maintain safety standards despite the shortages.

“We are seeing signs of stress in the system, so we are proactively reducing the number of flights to make sure the American people continue to fly safely,” FAA administrator Bryan Bedford said in a statement this week.

“The FAA will continue to closely monitor operations, and we will not hesitate to take further action to make sure air travel remains safe.”