The US government shutdown is set to cause a major reduction in flights at some of the busiest airports in the country.
On Thursday, November 6, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that air travel will be cut by up to 10% at 40 major airports if the shutdown continues.
As per the head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the decision, which will only impact domestic flights, was made due to fatigue reports from air traffic controllers.
Some 1.4 million federal workers, from air traffic controllers to park wardens, are working without pay or are on forced leave, as the US Congress has failed to agree on a funding budget.
Major airports in Atlanta, New York and Washington DC will be affected by the reduction in service.
"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," Duffy said in a statement.
Unions say many employees are becoming ill with stress or are being forced into taking second jobs.
On Wednesday, the federal government funding impasse became the longest shutdown in US history.
"It is unusual," said FAA chief Bryan Bedford of the planned flight reductions, "just as the shutdown is unusual, just as the fact that our controllers haven't been paid for a month is unusual."
The flight reductions will be gradual, starting at 4% of domestic flights on Friday. It will rise to 6% by November 11 and 8% by November 13 before hitting a full 10% by November 14.
Impacted airports are all in high-traffic cities, including New York John F Kennedy International, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Chicago O'Hare International, Ronald Reagan Washington National, and Los Angeles International airports.
The cancellations could affect between 3,500 and 4,000 flights per day.
Since the October shutdown, most federal workers were sent home, while those deemed essential, such as controllers, had to keep doing their jobs without pay.
