U.S. warns it could force 20% flight cuts if government shutdown continues

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Friday the administration could force airlines to cut up to 20 per cent of flights if the government shutdown did not end, as U.S. airlines scrambled to make unprecedented government-imposed reductions.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mandated airlines on Friday to cut four per cent of flights at 40 major airports because of a record-setting government shutdown. Cuts will rise to 10 per cent by Nov. 14.

Duffy told reporters it was possible he could require 20 per cent cuts later. “I assess the data,” he said. “We’re going to make decisions based on what we see in the air space.”

The cuts, which began at 6 a.m. ET, include about 700 flights from the four largest carriers — American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines — and are set to rise to six per cent on Tuesday and then 10 per cent by Nov. 14 if the shutdown does not end.

The cuts don’t apply to international flights.

Separately, air traffic controller absences on Friday forced the FAA to delay hundreds of flights at 10 airports including in Atlanta, San Francisco, Houston, Phoenix, Washington, D.C., and Newark. By 3:30 p.m. ET, there were more than 3,500 flight delays.

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said on Friday he doesn’t expect significant disruption for customers from initial government-ordered flight reductions, but he warned that increased cuts would be “problematic.”

“This level of cancellation is going to grow over time, and that’s something that is going to be problematic,” he told CNBC.

American Airlines told Reuters that its 220 flight cancellations on Friday impacted 12,000 passengers and within a few hours accommodated a majority of them.

Cuts will be smaller over the weekend

United Airlines said half of its impacted customers were able to be rebooked within four hours of their original departure time. United, which cancelled 184 flights on Friday, will cut 168 on Saturday and 158 on Sunday.

Duffy had announced plans on Wednesday to cut 10 per cent of flights starting Friday. But he said on Friday that the “safety team said that could be even more disruptive” and instead opted to phase them starting at four per cent.

The transportation secretary said safety data was behind the move, including incidents of planes not maintaining separation and ground incursions.

“We’ve had more complaints from pilots that have said, ‘Well, the controller is less responsive to me, or controllers seem to be more stressed,” Duffy said. “The numbers are going in the wrong direction.”

The FAA did not publish the list of airports impacted until 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday — less than 12 hours before the cuts took effect — and largely rejected concerns airlines raised after they received a draft order.

Airlines were also dealing with the fallout from continuing air traffic controller absences as the FAA slows flights to address staffing issues. Earlier this week, FAA administrator Bryan Bedford said 20 to 40 per cent of controllers were not showing up for work on any given day.

During the record-long 38-day government shutdown, 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 security screeners have been forced to work without pay.

The FAA on Friday was delaying flights at six airports amid a spike in air traffic controller absences.

The FAA is restricting space launches as well.

It also warned it could reject specific cuts if they disproportionately impacted certain communities and could cut up to 10 per cent of general aviation flights at high-traffic airports if staffing issues arose.