The United States government announced on Wednesday that it will reduce air traffic by 10 per cent across 40 of the country’s busiest markets starting Friday morning, as the longest government shutdown in the nation’s history continues to strain aviation safety.

The decision, officials said, is a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of passengers and crew as unpaid air traffic controllers struggle to manage growing workloads and fatigue. The American air system handles more than 44,000 flights daily, from passenger and cargo planes to private aircraft, meaning the cuts could disrupt thousands of journeys nationwide.

What US traffic operations said?

Bryan Bedford, head of the agency overseeing air traffic operations, said the reductions were unavoidable. “We can’t ignore it," he st

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