Mass cancellations of flights in the United States are causing havoc for travelers after the government ordered flight schedules to be cut due to a shortage of air traffic controllers.
The reduced flight schedule, scheduled to begin Friday, comes as the United States continues its longest government shutdown in history, which began Oct. 1 after Congress failed to agree on a federal funding bill.
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On Thursday night, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a phased reduction plan that calls for airlines to cut domestic flights by 4% starting Friday at 6 a.m. ET (11 p.m. Japan time), gradually increasing to 10% by Nov. 14.
So far, the planned cancellations have not affected international flights.
Aviation analysis firm Cirium estimates that around 1,800 flights will be canceled, reducing the number of seats by 268,000.
Here’s what we know about cancellations.
Why are flights canceled in America?
Since the longest government shutdown in history on October 1, there has been no sign that Republicans and Democrats will resolve their standoff over health care funding and agree on a new funding bill. Hundreds of thousands of federal employees, including air traffic controllers, have been furloughed or are working without pay.
Federal employees have received back pay due to the end of the previous government shutdown, but President Donald Trump has threatened to permanently lay off many federal workers unless Democrats agree to approve a funding bill.
So far, 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 security inspectors are working without pay because they are classified as essential workers and will not be paid until the shutdown is lifted.
But Transport Secretary Sean Duffy announced the decision to cut flights now, ahead of the busy Thanksgiving holiday season at the end of the month, to ease pressure on an already overburdened industry.
In a post on X on Thursday night, Duffy said the decision to reduce flights was not political, but instead was about “evaluating data and mitigating the risks built into the system as air traffic controllers continue to work without pay.”
.@USDOT has many responsibilities, but our top job is safety.
This isn’t about politics. It is important to evaluate data and mitigate the risks that are built into the system when administrators continue to work without pay.
You can safely board a plane today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow… pic.twitter.com/YRrq5sdy4T
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 7, 2025
“I want to pay them but I can’t,” he added in a later post.
There is no money to pay air traffic controllers during this shutdown. Congress says there is no money. I would like to pay, but I can’t.
My message to Democrats is to sit down, figure it out, and don’t hold the American people hostage – especially when they want to… pic.twitter.com/up2peizyZn
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 6, 2025
Is it safe to fly?
yes.
“Thanks to the proactive actions we are taking, you can fly safely today, tomorrow, and the day after,” Duffy wrote in a post accompanying the broader statement.
The statement also cited comments from FAA Administrator Brian Bedford, who said the agency “will not hesitate to take further action” to relieve pressure on workers.
“We are seeing signs of stress in our system, so we are actively reducing the number of flights to ensure Americans can fly,” Bedford said, adding that he was monitoring the situation.
It is still unclear how long the cancellation will last.
Which airports will be affected?
Forty of the nation’s busiest airports have canceled flights, including:
Anchorage International, Alaska Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International, Georgia Boston Logan International, Massachusetts Baltimore/Washington International, Maryland Charlotte Douglas International, North Carolina Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, Kentucky Dallas Love Field, Texas Ronald Reagan Washington National, Virginia Denver International, Colorado Dallas/Fort Worth International, Detroit, Texas Metropolitan Wayne County, Michigan Newark Liberty International, New Jersey Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International, Florida Honolulu International, Hawaii Houston Hobby, Texas Washington Dulles International, Virginia George Bush Houston Intercontinental, Texas Indianapolis International, Indiana John F. Kennedy International, New York Harry Reid International, Las Vegas Los Angeles International, California LaGuardia, New York Orlando International, Florida Chicago Midway International, Memphis International, Illinois, Miami International, Tennessee, Minneapolis/St.
When was the last time this happened?
The last government shutdown lasted 35 days in January 2019 during President Trump’s first term.
At the time, travel was suspended at New York’s LaGuardia Airport after several air traffic workers who had to work without pay failed to show up and instead called in sick people. The travel suspension at LaGuardia Airport also caused delays at other major airports, including Philadelphia and Atlanta.
This action, along with other staffing issues, prompted President Trump to agree to temporarily end the government shutdown. The government shutdown officially ended in February.
Which flights will be canceled? What can travelers do?
International flights will not be cancelled.
However, it is unclear exactly which domestic flights will be affected. Katie Nastro, a travel analyst at the airline ticket information website Going, told ABC News that “flights to smaller cities that are less fully booked or have limited schedules to begin with are likely to be in jeopardy.”
Alaska Airlines said most of the cancellations will affect high-frequency routes to accommodate travelers with minimal disruption.
The Department for Transport said airlines must provide full refunds to travelers whose flights have been canceled, but secondary costs such as food and accommodation will not be covered unless the delay or cancellation was under the airline’s control.
Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle encouraged travelers to buy a backup ticket on another airline to avoid being stranded or missing out on important travel if their flight is cancelled.
Who will be most affected?
Todd Curtis, founder of aviation safety website AirSafe, told Al Jazeera that the shutdown has had a significant impact on workers.
“If there is a shortage of staff, there are procedures in place. More importantly, and this was distributed by the Secretary of Transportation, is fatigue due to staffing issues. Controllers are required to work six days a week with mandatory overtime. Even under the best of circumstances, this is a difficult job,” Curtis explained.
Travelers facing disruption voiced their anger over the cancellations.
At Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, passenger Sandy Humes told Al Jazeera that she almost canceled her trip due to airline cancellations.
“I don’t even know what’s going to happen. But then I decided, okay, let’s just give it a go and see what happens. But it was unexpected. I’m sick of it. I’m like, what are we going to do?” Humes said.
At the same airport, Vic Seastead told Al Jazeera it was “unfortunate” that there was a lack of information.
“That means my youngest child Valentina, who is 9 years old, was looking forward to seeing me for a date night, but now she may not be able to do so,” he said.
What other essential services are being affected by the government shutdown?
In addition to flight cancellations, the grounding could also affect the more than 42 million Americans who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, also known as food stamps.
The government had planned to completely freeze payments to the program when funding ran out at the end of October, but a federal judge blocked that decision Monday, saying the Trump administration must at least partially provide emergency funding to the program.
Officials will use $4.65 billion from the USDA’s emergency fund to support roughly half of the “current allocation” for SNAP participants. Despite this, US media reported this week that some households may not receive benefits for several weeks.
When will service resume?
Republican and Democratic members of Congress approved the bill, which would provide funding for government services.
Republican South Carolina Sen. Tom Davis told Al Jazeera that Republicans and Democrats have faced off before, but “someone is always blinking.”
“Traditionally, we pass what’s called a clean emergency resolution, continuing last year’s funding levels until a new level is agreed upon. Democrats have done this 12 times under President (Joe) Biden, and they refuse to do it under President Trump. So (that’s) where we are right now, and Republicans are not going to swallow the spending increases.”
“But until someone blinks, we’re sitting here,” he added.
