Government Shutdown: Flight cancellations expected to continue even after stalemate ends

Flight delays continue amid government shutdown

Flight delays continue nationwide as the government shutdown drags on.

WASHINGTON - Flight cancellations at airports nationwide are expected to continue even after the government shutdown ends.

The Federal Aviation Administration cut flights as some unpaid air traffic controllers, missing paychecks for weeks, stopped reporting to work.

The Senate took its first step toward ending the shutdown Sunday, though final passage may still be days away. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said last week that flight cuts will stay in place until the FAA sees safety metrics improve.

Flight cuts

Airlines canceled thousands of flights over the weekend to meet the order cutting 4% of service. The cancellations are scheduled to climb to 6% of all flights at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports Tuesday, and to 10% by the end of the week.

By Monday morning, airlines had already canceled1,600 flights for the day and nearly 1,000 more for Tuesday.

Beyond the mandated cuts, flight delays have spread through airports nationwide since the shutdown began. The FAA slows traffic whenever it’s short on controllers at a facility to keep flights safe.

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Shutdown talks continue

Tuesday will mark the second missed payday for air traffic controllers and other FAA employees. How soon they’ll be paid once the shutdown ends remains unclear. 

"More controllers aren't coming to work day by day, the further they go without a paycheck," Duffy said.

The government has long struggled with a shortage of air traffic controllers, and Duffy said the shutdown has made it worse, prompting some to retire early or quit. 

Before the shutdown, he had been working to ease the crunch by hiring more controllers, speeding up training and offering bonuses to keep veterans on the job.

Duffy warned over the weekend that if the shutdown drags on, the situation could worsen as the U.S. heads into the holiday travel season. He said air travel may "be reduced to a trickle" by Thanksgiving week.

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