Hundreds of US flights cancelled as regulator orders cuts to air traffic

Hundreds of flights across the US have been cancelled following an order from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to temporarily cut air traffic by 10 percent at the country’s 40 largest airports to maintain safety amid a shortage of air traffic controllers due to the government shutdown.

More than 790 flights scheduled for Friday were cut from airline schedules, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions.

That number, already four times higher than Thursday’s daily total of cancellations, was likely to keep climbing, while almost 500 have been cancelled for Saturday so far, according to the website.

The FAA issued its order on Thursday in response to the growing number of absences by air traffic controllers amid the record-breaking US government shutdown,