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The government shutdown is now disrupting travel plans for thousands.
Air traffic controllers have been working without pay since October 1, and an increasing number of them have been calling in sick as the shutdown extends into its second month.
These staffing shortages prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to mandate a 10% reduction in flights at 40 of the country's busiest airports, forcing airlines to cancel flights.
That started with a 4% reduction on Friday. It will increase to 10% by November 14.
Some 750 flights have so far been canceled as of 6 a.m. ET on Friday, according to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm. Only domestic trips are directly affected by the FAA mandate, with major airline hubs bearing the brunt of the impact.
If you're among the thousands of travelers who have had a flight delayed or canceled, here's what you should do.
Airlines are not required to compensate passengers for disruptions caused by uncontrollable events. That includes air traffic control delays, which have increased since the government shutdown began. If a flight is canceled, airlines are required to issue cash refunds to customers, even in the event of uncontrollable circumstances. That would include flights cut as a result of the FAA mandate.
Passengers whose flights are affected should monitor their airlines' app for rebooking options, which could be faster than waiting in a long line at the gate while everyone tries to rebook at once.
Some airlines will offer vouchers for hotels and meals if a disruption results in a customer waiting at least three hours or requires an overnight stay. You can also check with your credit card, as several major banks offer cards that come with travel insurance.
The US Travel Association sent a letter to congressional leaders on Monday, urging them to end the shutdown and avoid the chaos that it says will result if the funding lapse persists through the busy travel holiday.
The letter said that the United States' travel economy has already lost $4 billion as a result of the shutdown, and that billions more could be lost if the government remains closed over Thanksgiving. The Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving, as well as the Sunday after, are typically among the busiest travel days of the year.
"With Thanksgiving, the busiest travel period of the year, imminently approaching, the consequences of a continued shutdown will be immediate, deeply felt by millions of American travelers, and economically devastating to communities in every state," the letter said. It was addressed to the party leaders of both chambers and was signed by over 500 travel companies and groups. Read full story
Congressional Democrats in Colorado are urging the Federal Aviation Administration to allow the state's largest airport, Denver International, to pay air traffic controllers with its own money.
Air traffic controllers are normally paid by the FAA with federal funds. They have gone without pay since the government shutdown began over a month ago. Many of them are now not showing up for work, forcing the FAA to ground thousands of flights across the country over safety concerns.
"Given the urgency of the situation, which now affects airports across the country, we urge your immediate approval of this request," the delegation wrote in a letter to FAA chief Bryan Bedford.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a news event in Washington, DC on Friday afternoon that if the shutdown continues for much longer, more unpaid air traffic controllers will stop showing up for work.
He said that could mean a mandated reduction of air traffic as high as 20%. After news organization present at the event published his comments, he clarified there were no actual plans to reduce air traffic by that much and that he was speaking hypothetically.
The Federal Aviation Administration already plans to ground 10% of flights. Those cuts began on Friday and will continue to ramp up over the next week unless the shutdown is resolved.
Updated data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, shows the number of flights canceled on Friday remains steady at about 3% of total flights, but that Saturday cancellations are growing, now at 2.7% of total flights, up from 1.7% as of this morning. Here's the breakdown of cancellations on Friday by airline:
| Airline | Scheduled | Canceled | % Canceled |
| American Airlines | 5,810 | 224 | 3.86% |
| Delta Air Lines | 4,607 | 180 | 3.91% |
| United Airlines | 4,583 | 185 | 4.04% |
| Southwest Airlines | 4,129 | 80 | 1.94% |
| Alaska Airlines | 1,235 | 33 | 2.67% |
| JetBlue | 727 | 24 | 3.30% |
| Frontier Airlines | 706 | 26 | 3.68% |
| Spirit Airlines | 455 | 1 | .22% |
| Allegiant Air | 402 | 2 | .50% |
| Grant Aviation | 226 | 6 | 2.65% |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 226 | 6 | 2.65% |
| Breeze Airways | 222 | 4 | 1.80% |
Air traffic controllers, one of America's most stressed-out professions, wield delicate power in Washington's shutdown standoff.
Chaos from the 2019 shutdown is fresh in politicians' minds: Air traffic controllers at the time called out sick en masse, triggering airport snafus nationwide — including the temporary closure of New York's LaGuardia Airport. It ultimately forced the end of the longest government shutdown in US history.
Three controllers told Business Insider they don't want to be the barometer for whether the nation's aviation system could once again reach its breaking point — they just want to do their jobs, be paid fairly, and support their coworkers.
The FAA's flight reductions could affect up to 1,800 flights and some 268,000 seats a day, according to Cirium, a data analytics firm.
With short notice and complex networks, it's not a simple task for airlines to cut flights. Carriers need to determine how to minimize the knock-on effects of planes and crews being left stranded.
If you have a flight booked from Friday onward, you should check with the airline about its status. Any cancellations or changes should be communicated to you.
United Airlines told its customers that cancellations are likely to affect regional and domestic flights that don't go between two hubs. United's US hubs are Chicago O'Hare, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.
United Airlines expects that up to 25,000 customers a day could have their travel plans disrupted, a source close to the airline told Business Insider.
While the FAA mandated flight reductions to start at 4%, that's set to rise by 10% next Friday if the shutdown doesn't end.
At that point, the person said, United would likely be canceling 250 to 300 flights a day.
The map below shows the number of flights canceled at each of the 40 airports as of 6 a.m. ET on Friday, using data from the aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport experienced the highest number of cancellations, with 76. It's the world's busiest airport and Delta Air Lines' main hub.
Business Insider has been reaching out to airlines over the past 24 hours to find out how they've been affected by the flight reductions.
Some of them were openly frustrated by the shutdown, calling on politicians to end it as soon as possible.
"This is unacceptable," a representative for American Airlines said. "We, once again, urge leaders in Washington to reach an immediate resolution to end the shutdown."
"We remain grateful to every air traffic controller and TSA or CBP officer who is working without pay to keep air travel functioning safely," a representative for Alaska Airlines said. "We continue to strongly urge our federal leaders to reach an immediate resolution and end the shutdown."
Southwest Airlines' statement concluded with the line: "We continue to urge Congress to immediately resolve its impasse and restore the National Airspace System to its full capacity."
"We are seeing signs of stress in the system, so we are proactively reducing the number of flights to make sure the American people continue to fly safely," Federal Aviation Administrator Bryan Bedford said in a statement on Thursday.
"The FAA will continue to closely monitor operations, and we will not hesitate to take further action to make sure air travel remains safe."
In the same statement, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said: "My department has many responsibilities, but our No. 1 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," he added.
"It's safe to fly today, and it will continue to be safe to fly next week because of the proactive actions we are taking."
The government shutdown means federal employees like air traffic controllers aren't getting their usual paychecks. But since they're critical to safety, they still have to turn up for work.
As the shutdown persists into a second month, however, an increasing number of controllers are calling in sick.
The first signs of stress were evident six days into the shutdown. Hollywood Burbank Airport's air traffic control tower was unstaffed for hours on the evening of October 6.
Flights could still take off and land as approach operations were handled remotely by a facility in San Diego. But for taxiing to and from the runway, pilots had to communicate among themselves.
Over the ensuing weeks, it became more common for the FAA to institute ground stops or ground delays at several airports nationwide due to ATC staffing shortages.