More than 1,000 flights have been canceled and at least 5,000 delayed, mostly due to government shutdown.
According to NBC News, the reductions take effect at 40 high-traffic airports, in what officials say is an attempt to relieve pressure amid the record-long government shutdown.
Federal Aviation Administrator Bryan Bedford has said the unprecedented move is the result of "fatigue" plaguing air traffic controllers, who have been working without pay since the start of the government shutdown, now in its second month.
The FAA-mandated flight cancellations mean a 4% reduction in operations today. It will ramp up to 6% by November 11, 8% by November 13, and up to 10% by November 14.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said today that the end of the government shutdown would not immediately restore air traffic controllers because it will take time for them all to return to work.
Officials announced they had asked the Federal Aviation Administration for a waiver to use airport revenue to pay controllers Wednesday after the FAA announced plans to reduce air traffic at the nation’s busiest airports.
“As part of our airport family, it’s our hope that we can reduce the hardship on them by covering their wages during the shutdown, with reimbursement by the FAA later,” Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington said in a statement.
Notably, the recent partial government shutdown is the longest shutdown in US history, with air traffic controllers among those employees working without pay.
