Current Events > FAA will reduce air traffic by 10% at many airports to maintain safety

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.npr.org/2025/11/05/nx-s1-5600082/faa-airport-traffic-reductions-shutdown

The FAA plans to reduce air traffic in 40 "high-volume markets" beginning on Friday. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told reporters the agency wants to reduce the pressure at those airports before safety is compromised.
"We just can't ignore it," Bedford said, "when the early indicators are telling us we can take action today to prevent things from deteriorating."
The FAA has already been delaying flights at some airports because of widespread staffing shortages among air traffic controllers.
The government shutdown, now in its sixth week, has taken a growing toll on those controllers, who are required to work without pay until it ends. Some have taken on second jobs, and many are calling out sick. Even before the shutdown, the system was more than 3,000 certified controllers short.
Bedford and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy say they would meet with airline leaders to figure out how to implement the reductions fairly before announcing the details.
They did not immediately announce which airports would be affected by the reductions. But the agency has been reporting persistent staffing shortages at air traffic control facilities around some of the nation's busiest airports, including major airline hubs in Dallas, Houston, Newark, N.J., and Phoenix.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTGG67TGAXc

we're all not going anywhere now (unless by car or bus).

4 hour or more wait time for check in if they even fly that day.

crippling pain felt by all who rely on services.

I got a work trip in exactly one month from now, hoping shit's cleared up by then

MC_BatCommander posted...

I got a work trip in exactly one month from now, hoping shit's cleared up by then

it's not going to last that long i don't think (at least i hope it doesn't) because i really need that food assistance. spent my last 50$ on this weeks food (gotta hit up the food bank next week if i want to survive).

they already made the Guinness book of world records for longest shutdown.

others have it worse than me.

The airlines wanted this.

The clusterfuck over Thanksgiving travel is going to put the squeeze on Republicans to capitulate. And if that doesn't reduced air travel impacts the rich too, unlike the loss of SNAP benefits.

Right before Thanksgiving. Nice. Good luck America, you voted for this.

Trumpistan

Isn't this what moved the needle to end the shutdowm last time? Same could happen here.

Repugs need to take the L, cut the shit, and re-open the government.

Good. Fuck everyone's day up. The Republican shutdown will not be forgotten.

Deyestus posted...

Isn't this what moved the needle to end the shutdowm last time? Same could happen here.

Repugs need to take the L, cut the shit, and re-open the government.

Yes, I saw that being brought up on R/Politics, air workers threatened to walk out at Thanksgiving and Republicans panicked.

Can't even escape this trainwreck of a country now.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/d/dfaee078.jpg

sfcalimari posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/d/dfaee078.jpg

HOLY MOLY

that and Canadian tourism

^ lmao

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/7/739e0993.jpg

ceos of united, southwest, jetblue gushing over Trump's big beautiful bullshit bill:

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/airline-giants-rally-behind-trump-admins-critical-plan-overhual-air-traffic-systems

Next time you're stuck in line for six+ hours in an understaffed TSA line to get on a basic ass domestic flight by one of these airlines, think about how the CEO wanted this.

sfcalimari posted...

Next time you're stuck in line for six+ hours in an understaffed TSA line

damn... now it's 6+ hours.

the whole day pretty much.

I fly a bunch for work (just hit 75 flights for the calendar year) and have been dreading this. Its going to suck.

I have to fly from DC to ATL to my home in FL this Friday. Supposed to go to Nashville through ATL Tuesday and back Wednesday next week. Then Philly for a night and Dallas for two days the week after that. From what Im reading commuter flights at hubs will be hit the hardest. Yay!

If the government wasnt run by a corrupt family and his billionaire friends they would focus on reducing private travel first. But there is no chance that happens.

https://abc7.com/post/flight-capacity-will-reduced-10-40-major-airports-faa/18117745/?userab=kfsn_web_player-447*variant_b_kfsn_dmp-1861

Pretty much every airport in the country will be affected.

https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-reduced-flights-a082a6817d960101968a923f7dfd8ef0

Most major US airports are among 40 targeted for shutdown flight cuts

Airports in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago are among 40 of the busiest across the U.S. where flights will be cut starting Friday due to the government shutdown, according to a list distributed to the airlines and obtained by The Associated Press.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday it would reduce air traffic by 10% across high-volume markets to maintain travel safety as air traffic controllers go unpaid and exhibit signs of strain during the shutdown.

The affected airports in more than two dozen states include the busiest ones across the U.S., including Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Orlando, Miami, and San Francisco. In some of the biggest cities such as New York, Houston and Chicago multiple airports will be affected.

The FAA is imposing the flight reductions to relieve pressure on air traffic controllers who are working without pay during the government shutdown and have been increasingly calling off work. The move also comes as the Trump administration is ramping up pressure on Democrats in Congress to end the shutdown.

Controllers already have missed one full paycheck and are scheduled to again receive nothing next week as the shutdown drags on.
The FAA has been delaying flights at times when airports or its other facilities are short on controllers.

Passengers should start to be notified about cancellations Thursday. Airlines said they would try to minimize the impact on customers, some of whom will see weekend travel plans disrupted with little notice.

United, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines said they would offer refunds to passengers who opt not to fly, even if they purchased tickets that arent normally refundable.
The head of Frontier Airlines recommended that travelers buy backup tickets with another airline to avoid being stranded.

The cuts also could disrupt package deliveries because two airports with major distribution centers are on the list FedEx operates at the airport in Memphis, Tennessee, and UPS in Louisville, Kentucky, the site of this weeks deadly cargo plane crash.

The cuts could affect as many as 1,800 flights, or upward of 268,000 passengers, per day, according to an estimate by aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Airlines are used to dealing with cutting thousands of flights on short notice during severe weather, but the difference now is that these cuts during the shutdown will last indefinitely until safety data improves.
Im not aware in my 35-year history in the aviation market where weve had a situation where were taking these kinds of measures, FAA administrator Bryan Bedford said Wednesday. Were in new territory in terms of government shutdowns.

Airline industry analyst Henry Harteveldt said that few cities will be spared because some airlines have indicated they will focus on reducing routes to and from small and medium-sized cities.
This is going to have a noticeable impact across the U.S. air transportation system, said Harteveldt, president of Atmosphere Research Group.

Air traffic controllers have been working unpaid since the shutdown began Oct. 1. Most work mandatory overtime six days a week, leaving little time for side jobs to help cover bills and other expenses unless they call out.
Mounting staffing pressures are forcing the agency to act, Bedford said.

We cant ignore it, he said.
Bedford and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday that they would meet with airline executives to figure out how to safely implement the reductions.

Major airlines, aviation unions and the broader travel industry have been urging Congress to end the shutdown, which on Wednesday became the longest on record.
The shutdown is putting unnecessary strain on the system and forcing difficult operational decisions that disrupt travel and damage confidence in the U.S. air travel experience, said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman in a statement.

Duffy warned earlier this week that there could be chaos in the skies if the shutdown drags on long enough for air traffic controllers to miss their second full paycheck next week.
He said some controllers can get by missing one paycheck, but not two or more.

Staffing can run short both in regional control centers that manage multiple airports and in individual airport towers, but they dont always lead to flight disruptions. Throughout October, flight delays caused by staffing problems had been largely isolated and temporary.

But the past weekend brought some of the worst staffing issues since the start of the shutdown.
From Friday to Sunday evening, at least 39 air traffic control facilities reported potential staffing limits, according to an Associated Press analysis of operations plans shared through the Air Traffic Control System Command Center system. The figure, which is likely an undercount, is well above the average for weekends before the shutdown.