US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has warned that air travel capacity will be reduced by up to 10% at 40 major airports over the coming days if the government shutdown continues.
The decision, which is expected to affect only domestic flights, was made because air traffic controllers were reporting fatigue, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said during a press briefing alongside Duffy.
Some 1.4 million federal workers, from air traffic controllers to park rangers, are working without pay – or on forced leave – because the U.S. Congress has failed to approve a federal funding budget.
Unions say many employees suffer from stress or are forced to take second jobs.
On Wednesday, the standoff became the longest shutdown in U.S. history.
“It’s unusual,” FAA Chief Bryan Bedford said of the planned flight reductions, “just like the shutdown is unusual, just like the fact that our controllers haven’t been paid in a month is unusual.”
The flight reductions will be gradual, starting at 4% of domestic flights on Friday, then increasing to 5% on Saturday and 6% on Sunday, before reaching 10% next week, the Reuters news agency reported, citing four unnamed sources.
The names of the affected airports – all high-traffic locations – will be released on Thursday, officials said.
US media outlets, including BBC partner CBS News, reported that the list would include some of the country’s busiest hubs, including Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Dallas/Fort Worth International, Denver International, Chicago O’Hare International and Los Angeles International.
Cancellations could affect between 3,500 and 4,000 flights per day. US media also reported that international flights would not be affected.
“We’re seeing pressures building up in a way that, if we leave this unchecked, will not allow us to continue to tell the public that we operate the safest aviation system in the world,” Bedford said during Wednesday’s press briefing.
Duffy insisted air travel was still safe and the decision to cancel flights was made to maintain safety and efficiency.
If the shutdown continues and adds more pressure to the system, additional restrictive measures may be necessary, Bedford said.
In a statement, American Airlines, North America’s second-largest carrier, said it was awaiting additional information from the FAA so it could determine which flights would be cut, but that “we anticipate the vast majority of our customers’ travel will be unaffected.”
A spokesperson for Southwest Airlines, another major carrier, said in a statement that the company was still evaluating how the flight restrictions would affect its services and would notify customers as soon as possible.
“We continue to urge Congress to immediately break its impasse and restore the National Airspace System to its full capacity,” the spokesperson added.
Delta Airlines declined to comment. The BBC has also requested comment from other major US airlines.
Once government funds ran out on October 1, most federal workers were sent home and told they would be paid once the government reopened. However, people deemed essential, such as controllers, had to continue to do their work without being paid.
Almost immediately after the shutdown began, airports began to feel the effects. Some had to ground their flights for hours after air traffic controllers called in sick, while others relied on controllers at other airports.
Duffy warned earlier this week that flight cancellations could occur, with half of the country’s 30 major airports experiencing staff shortages.
Nick Daniels, president of the union representing more than 20,000 aviation workers, described the situation in grim terms on Wednesday.
“Air traffic controllers are texting ‘I don’t even have enough money to put gas in my car and come to work,'” he told CNN.
“We base what we do day in and day out on predictability,” he said. “At the moment there is no predictability.”
Speaking to NPR, one controller suggested the situation could reach a “tipping point” for them and their colleagues. “It was around the time of the last shutdown that people started to get fed up,” they said.
Another controller told the same channel: “It degrades that safety margin if a group of people are sick and not working and I have to do their job at the same time as mine.”
Writing recently for MSNBC, another controller, a single father, said he worked for the food delivery service DoorDash after his daily shift in airline traffic ended and “slept only two hours most nights.”
“Like many families, we did not anticipate closure,” he wrote. “Yet the bills don’t stop.”
Duffy previously said there was a risk if air traffic controllers took on additional duties during the shutdown, and threatened to fire controllers who did not come to work.
“They have to make a decision: Do I go to work without getting a paycheck and putting food on the table? Or do I drive for Uber or DoorDash or wait tables?” » Duffy said on Sunday.
