Hundreds of flights set for Friday have been cut at major U.S. airports as part of the Federal Aviation Administration's effort to phase in 10% reductions because of the government shutdown.
The FAA is imposing the reductions to take pressure off air traffic controllers, who are federal employees and have been working without pay during the shutdown.
In addition to reduced flight traffic, the shutdown has led to more flight delays, with experts advising travelers to check flight statuses before heading to the airport, among other tips.
Here's what to know about the reductions.
Which airports are affected?
The 40 airports selected by the FAA for reductions span more than two dozen states and include hubs such as Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami and Newark, according to an order published by the agency Thursday evening. A full list of affected airports can be found here.
Tips for passengers whose flights are delayed or canceled during the shutdown can be found here.
More than 815 flights have been called off nationwide, according to FlightAware. Delta Air Lines said it would scratch roughly 170 flights Friday, and American Airlines planned to cut 220 daily through Monday.
Three percent of all U.S. flights scheduled for Friday — or 748 flights — had been canceled as of 6 a.m. ET, while about 1.7% of Saturday’s flights had been canceled, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Karen Soika from Greenwich, Connecticut, unsuccessfully tried to book a rental car after learning her flight to Utah was leaving from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport instead of Newark Liberty International Airport.
“I’m a surgeon, I’m used to chaos,” she said.
“I’m going to U-Haul and I’m going to drive a truck cross country to get back to Utah,” said Soika, who’s advising on medical scenes there for a spinoff of the TV series “Yellowstone.”
Why is this necessary?
Air traffic controllers have gone without paychecks during the shutdown. That has led to controllers calling in sick and contributed to staffing shortages that have affected air travel for weeks.
Most controllers work mandatory overtime six days a week during the shutdown without pay, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association has said.
That leaves little time for a side job unless controllers call in sick to the FAA.
When will the reductions begin and end?
The reductions began Friday and airlines have said people could see weekend travel plans disrupted with little notice.
Airlines will phase in reductions at the direction of the FAA, starting by eliminating 4% of flights at the targeted airports and building to 10%, according to the agency's order.
United Airlines will cut 4% of its flights this weekend based on guidance from the FAA, said company spokesperson Josh Freed.
It is unclear when the reduced flights could end. Airlines, unions and the travel industry have urged Congress to end the shutdown, which on Wednesday became the longest on record.
What will the effect of the reduction be?
The cuts could include up to 1,800 flights and about 268,000 seats combined, according to one estimate.
United and Delta both said they would offer refunds to travelers who opt not to fly, even if they have tickets that aren’t normally refundable.
The cuts also could disrupt package deliveries because two airports with major distribution centers are on the list. FedEx operates at the Memphis, Tennessee, airport and UPS in Louisville, Kentucky, where there was a deadly cargo plane crash this week.
The pain was lessened a bit Friday for some flying United and American as both airlines said they were able to quickly rebook most of their travelers affected by the cuts.
The vast majority of the more than 80% rebooked by United Airlines have been scheduled to reach their destinations within four hours of their original plan, a spokesperson said Friday.
Both airlines focused the cuts on smaller regional flights to airports where they have multiple flights a day. That helped minimize the number of passengers affected and limited the disruptions to the airlines’ plan to position planes in crews in their hubs for the next flight.
Associated Press writers Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey, and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed reporting.
