On Sunday, airlines cancelled over 2,800 flights and recorded more than 10,000 delays nationwide. These cancellations stem from the shutdown’s impact on the aviation system, where unpaid air-traffic controllers and understaffed control towers have prompted the FAA to reduce flight operations at major hubs.
The travel disruption is especially sharp at busy airports such as Hartsfield‑Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Chicago O’Hare International Airport and the New York tri-airport area of LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport. With the busy Thanksgiving travel period only weeks away, risks of further disruption are growing.
Officials emphasise that flight reductions are purely safety-driven measures rather than political. The FAA has required airlines to cut up to 10 % of scheduled departures at 40 high-traffic airports, a response to controller absences and declining staffing levels. As one example, some carriers reported cancelling hundreds of flights a day to comply with the directive.
The fallout from this disruption is more than just delayed vacations. More than 4 million passengers have already been affected since the shutdown began, according to the trade group Airlines for America. Travel-industry analysts warn that if the shutdown continues unattended, the US travel chaos could spiral further into the holiday season, disrupting not just airlines but tourism and shipping sectors as well.
Airlines are urging passengers to check flight updates before traveling, expect longer airport waits, and prepare for possible cancellations. Meanwhile, federal authorities face mounting pressure to resolve the shutdown and ease the strain on the aviation system. Until then, US travel chaos is likely to remain a serious challenge for flyers and airlines alike.
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