Hundreds of flights across the US have been cancelled amid the ongoing government shutdown.
This follows an order from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to temporarily cut air traffic by 10 percent at the country’s 40 largest airports to maintain safety amid a shortage of air traffic controllers due to the government shutdown.
According to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions, more than 790 flights scheduled for today, Friday, November 7, 2025, were cut from airline schedules.
That number, already four times higher than Thursday’s daily total of cancellations, was likely to keep climbing, while almost 500 have been cancelled for Saturday so far, according to the website.
The FAA issued its order in response to the growing number of absences by air traffic controllers amid the record-breaking US government shutdown, as Republicans and Democrats remain locked in a standoff in Congress over legislation to fund government services. “Since the beginning of the shutdown, controllers have been working without pay,” the FAA order said.
The FAA order added that this has resulted in increased reports of strain on the system from both pilots and air traffic controllers. “This past weekend, there were 2,740 delays at various airports,” it said.
The FAA’s phased-in cuts to air traffic over the next week will see a 4 percent reduction in air traffic today, and will end with 10 percent by November 14.
The FAA’s order also specifies that airlines do not need to cut international flights, although this decision will be left up to their discretion.
Impacted airports include Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Chicago O’Hare, and New York’s John F Kennedy international airports.
Hours before the reductions went into place, airlines scrambled to figure out where to cut.
American Airlines said that it reduced its schedule at the listed airports by 4% from today through Monday, about 220 cancellations each day, and would move from there toward the 10% target. The carrier said its international schedule was expected to remain untouched.
Airlines said that they would try to minimize impact on customers, some of whom will see weekend travel plans disrupted with little notice.
According to the Department of Transportation, the airlines will be required to issue full refunds but not to cover secondary costs such as food and hotel accommodations unless a delay or cancellation results from a contributing factor that is within the control of the airlines.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said that his department would not hesitate to take “further action,” suggesting further cuts to flights could be made down the road.
Proactive Safety Decision Amid Shutdown
US Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy asserted that the decision to cancel flights was a proactive safety decision rather than a political measure as the shutdown enters its 38th day today, Friday, November 7, 2025.
“My department has many responsibilities, but our number one job is safety. This isn’t about politics – it’s about assessing the data and alleviating building risk in the system as controllers continue to work without pay.
“It’s safe to fly today, and it will continue to be safe to fly next week because of the proactive actions we are taking.”
Sean Duffy
The FAA decision puts renewed pressure on Senate Democrats, who are blocking a government spending bill over healthcare spending, as the US is preparing for its busiest travel days of the year at the end of November.
According to its website, the FAA employed just over 14,000 air traffic controllers in fiscal year 2024. They are among the 730,000 “essential” federal employees who have been working without pay for the past five weeks, while another 670,000 have been furloughed, according to the Washington, DC-based Bipartisan Policy Center.
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