USA TODAY National
As travelers braced for flight cancellations and reductions beginning Friday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said more cuts could be on the way if the record-breaking government shutdown continues.
Just weeks ahead of the busy holiday travel season, flight operations were reduced by 4% at 40 major U.S. airports starting Friday, with the cuts gradually increasing to 10% over a week, Duffy announced.
Duffy said the cuts were a proactive safety step as the shutdown puts "strain on the system from both pilots and air traffic controllers," and controllers go without pay.
Given the increasing pressures on controllers, Duffy on Friday said as many as 15% of flights could be cut in the coming days. The announcement came not long after Duffy was heckled outside Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport near Washington, DC, Friday morning, where he went to talk with travelers and TSA workers.
Here's what to know as the cuts go into effect:
'I shouldn't be here': Cancellations upend travel plans
Carey Driscoll found herself in Indianapolis unexpectedly Friday morning while trying to make it home to Northern Kentucky, just outside Cincinnati.
"I shouldn't be here," she told IndyStar, part of the USA TODAY Network.
When Driscoll's Chicago to Cincinnati flight of her two-leg trip home from Fort Lauderdale was canceled by American Airlines, the former travel advisor savvily found a flight out of Miami to Indianapolis.
"I was worried I was going to have to spend 12 hours in Chicago-O'Hare and then maybe get home," she said. "So I changed it."
After landing in Indianapolis, Driscoll worked on a laptop, waiting for her mother-in-law to pick her up to start the two-hour journey back to Northern Kentucky.
--Alysa Guffey, Indianapolis Star
Southwest cancels over 100 flights at 34 airports
Southwest Airlines said it was cutting more than 100 flights on Friday with dozens more being canceled on Saturday due to air traffic restrictions issued during the ongoing federal government shutdown.
The airline slashed about 120 flights across 34 airports on Friday, Southwest released in a statement to USA TODAY.
The low-cost, Dallas-based carrier said it expects cancellations to impact less than 100 flights on Saturday, and that "the vast majority" of customers' flights "will not be disrupted."
--Natalie Neysa Alund and James Powel
Airlines still have a bottom line
Airlines will not simply cancel 10% of flights at random. They will likely target routes based on revenue, passenger rebooking options, and aircraft and crew routing, explained Ahmed Abdelghany, associate dean for research at the David B. O’Maley College of Business in Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
"All these airlines have shareholders and their job as managers is to maximize revenue and margin and profit to the airline sales and keep your airline stock up," Michael Taylor, senior travel advisor at JD Power told USA TODAY. "So they’re going to start first at looking − if you want 10% reduction in number of aircraft, well then we will cut those markets out that we’re not going to make the most money."
Both Abdelghany and Taylor agree that airlines have a myriad of factors to consider like crew and aircraft placement, but revenue is an important part of the equation. International flights, for the most part, are higher ticket items for airlines.
"It won’t seem to travelers that there’s any rhyme or reason to it at all. It’ll seem random, but what’s really driving it is someone in corporate headquarters saying, ‘OK, you want the number of aircraft lowered? Fine. I’ve got to keep my revenue high. I’m going to take out the ones I don’t make any money on. It’s as simple as that,’” Taylor added.
--Josh Rivera
Travel flowing smoothly at Washington, DC airport
Other than the hordes of television cameras and reporters milling about − and a visit from Transportation Secretary Duffy − travel at Reagan National Airport outside Washington, DC, chugged on as normal Friday morning.
The website Flight Aware listed 35 cancellations at the airport Friday. But as of 10:30 a.m., electronic displays by airport check-in counters showed only four cancelled morning and early afternoon flights. The cancellations were spread across four different airline and destinations.
Most travelers USA TODAY spoke to at the airport said they didn’t notice anything out of the usual. TSA lines moved swiftly and airport personnel seemed to be handling the flow of Friday traffic.
Vanita Todker, 39, sat outside an airport Starbucks after arriving from Los Angeles. She was in town with the Prakriti Dance Company for a weekend performance at the Jewish Community Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
Asked about whether she experienced any travel disruptions, Todker said “LA traffic.”
Calvin Tenney, 22, landed in DC from Detroit, Michigan to celebrate a family members birthday. Others flying in from San Diego for the celebrations had been impacted by the FAA cuts and had to rebook their flights to make it in time.
--Karissa Waddick
Air traffic controllers being used as political pawns, union leader says
National Air Traffic Controllers Association President Nick Daniels said financial problems are mounting for the workers he represents, and called on elected leaders to “quit using us as the political pawn and waiting to see how long we can last.”
Daniels told CNN in a Nov. 7 interview said the air traffic control system was “fragile” even before the shutdown began, and is now experiencing additional stress. Controllers have to be "perfect" at work, and financial concerns make it harder to concentrate, he said.
“We are always being used as a political pawn during a government shutdown,” Daniels said. “We are the rope in a tug of war game.”
--Zac Anderson
'Open the damn government': Duffy tells angry travelers to call their senators
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has a message for Democrats criticizing his move to cut flights: “Open the damn government.”
Duffy, in a Friday interview with Breitbart News Network, said he’s heard criticism that the decision to cut flights is political, as the Trump administration spars with Democrats about the government shutdown.
Duffy denied any political motivation. At the same time, he encouraged travelers angry about flight disruptions to engage with political leaders to end the shutdown.
“I would say, look at the votes in the Senate and see who voted to open the government and who voted to shut it down, and then I’d call those senators who voted to shut it down,” Duffy said. “That’s where the blame lies.”
−Zac Anderson
Handful of flights canceled at Denver airport
At Denver International Airport, the departures board showed a handful of canceled flights for the day, mostly to smaller destinations like nearby Colorado Springs or Lincoln, Nebraska.
High school friends and Minnesota natives Cecelia Wilde, Lara Freeburg and Kinsey Greene reunited at the airport for a weekend trip visiting Greene at the University of Colorado-Boulder.
Wilde said her Sun Country flight from Minnesota went smoothly, as did Freeburg’s United flight from Bozeman, Montana. Both travelers said their airlines have communicated clearly about the potential for flight problems, and they were more focused on the fun weekend ahead.
“If I’m stuck here for a little while, oh well,” said Freeburg, 21, a senior at Montana State.
Greene said the only flight disruption she’s heard of was for one of her roommates, whose flight to Detroit was canceled but immediately rebooked by United.
“They just sent her a text saying it was canceled but it was rebooked and no further actions was needed,” Greene said. “So that’s good.”
In a statement, United officials said about half of all affected customers have been automatically rebooked on flights, leaving within four hours of their original departure time.
−Trevor Hughes
'We’re ready to drive,' Chicago traveler says
The worries began for Scott Wolf and Madeleine Nicholson on Thursday when they first learned about the cuts to airport staffing and, of course, Wolf’s father began texting.
“Odds getting a little better,” read a text message from “dad” Wolf showed USA TODAY at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on Friday.
Wolf is the oldest of four siblings and the last of his sisters is getting married Saturday in New York.
“We can’t miss that,” said Wolf, 34. “We’re ready to drive if it’s canceled.”
“He’s giving a speech, we’re both walking in the wedding,” said Nicholson, 31, “And I really don’t want to drive to New York.”
O'Hare's Terminal 3 appeared calm at about 9:30 and the married couple felt hopeful they would arrive in time for the rehearsal dinner.
They're set to return to Chicago on Sunday and hope the trip will go smoothly.
“Why don’t we end it today, that way we can get home on time,” said Wolf said about the government shutdown.
Otherwise, said Nicholson, “Thanksgiving’s going to be a slaughter.”
−Michael Loria
More cuts to air travel capacity could come soon, Duffy says
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Breitbart News if the shutdown continues, flights will be cut further in the coming days.
“The response is to take pressure out of the system,” Duffy said. “I’m trying to minimize the risk through this government shutdown.”
Some air traffic controllers have taken second jobs to make ends meet, as they go more than a month without a paycheck. Given the pressures on controllers, Duffy said as much as 15% of flights could be cut in the coming days if the shutdown continues.
−Lauren Villagran
Transportation secretary says cuts based on 'concerning' data
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CBS News that federal officials made the decision to cut flights based on data about air traffic controllers that was “concerning.”
Pressed during the Nov. 7 interview to reveal more about the data that sparked concerns, Duffy said he would share more about it with Congress and the airlines “later.”
“But right now it’s about making the right decisions at the right time to keep people safe,” Duffy said, adding later that his biggest safety concern is “controller fatigue” amid the ongoing government shutdown, which has required controllers to work without pay.
Rep. Rick Larsen, the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said in a statement this week that the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to cut 10% of flights at 40 airports starting Nov. 7 is “a dramatic and unprecedented step that demands more transparency.”"The FAA must immediately share any safety risk assessment and related data that this decision is predicated on with Congress,” Larsen wrote.
Asked about those comments, Duffy said “if people want to question us, I would throw it back at them. Open up the government.”
−Zac Anderson
Transportation Secretary Duffy heckled at DC airport
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stopped by Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport outside of Washington, DC, Friday morning to talk with travelers and TSA workers.Some travelers yelled at Duffy as he exited the airport, telling him to get people back to work and push harder for an end to the government shutdown.Duffy called on Democrats to end the shutdown and defended the decision to cut flights.“We've relied on the experts at the FAA on the safety team to give us this advice,” he said. “It’s the right decision.”
−Karissa Waddick
How flight cuts could impact international travelers
At least three major carriers − United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines − have said international flights will not be reduced, but that doesn’t mean those travelers are off scot-free.
Many travelers have to make domestic connections before or after long-haul flights, and aviation experts have told USA TODAY connecting passengers may face fewer options and longer layovers amid Federal Aviation Administration-directed cuts.
−Eve Chen
Airlines required to give refunds for cancellations
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Brian Bedford said in a statement that airlines would be required to issue full refunds but would not be required to cover secondary costs − the standard procedure when flight cancellations are not the carrier's fault.
Federal rules entitle airline passengers to a full refund if their flight is canceled or significantly delayed and they choose not to rebook.
Some airlines are also offering waivers that allow travelers to change their flights without paying change fees or fare differences. Major carriers, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines, have waivers in place related to the flight reduction.
‒N'dea Yancey-Bragg
Not just targeted airports to see issues
It's not just travelers at the 40 airports on the list that could see issues.
“There's going to be extensive disruption across the entire nation’s air transportation system,” said Henry Harteveldt, and airline industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group, an independent travel analytics firm. And the consequences could last longer than the shutdown.
Passengers on connecting flights and crew members who would otherwise have continued on to other flights will also feel the ripple effect, experts told USA TODAY.
“For an airline to be told by the government they've got 36 or so hours to start dismembering their carefully built flight schedules doesn't give airlines a lot of time,” Harteveldt said.
Read more on what to expect.
‒Eve Chen
Airlines start announcing cuts
Airlines have begun releasing their planned cancellations for the first few days of operations reductions.
United, Delta, Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines on Thursday began canceling limited numbers of Friday flights in anticipation of the reduction plans. Alaska said it was working to ensure "smaller and remote communities ... reliant on air travel" would be protected and said in a statement posted on X that most cancellations would be on routes with a higher frequency of flights, "allowing most guests to be reaccommodated with as little disruption as possible."
Delta Airlines said it would cancel 170 flights on Friday. The airline usually operates about 5,000 flights per day, it said.
United said it would cut 4% of Friday's flights, which would total fewer than 200 cancellations nationwide as it operates about 4,500 flights each day. It has also released its schedules for Saturday and Sunday and urged travelers to check their flight statuses online or through its app. Even if your flight isn't canceled, you can get a refund for your trip if you don't want to fly, the company said.
How do I check if my flight is canceled?
Travelers shouldn’t wait until they’re already at the airport to learn whether they’re affected. The most important step, experts say, is to monitor your flight early and often.
Start by downloading your airline’s mobile app and turning on push and text notifications. Economist Hayley Berg from the travel booking company Hopper says travelers should be checking days in advance – not just the night before.
“If you have a flight scheduled or you’re scheduling one, sign up for text message notifications or sign up for alerts from the airline on the app on your phone,” Berg said. “A couple of days before your flight, just check in. Make sure that there haven’t been any changes that haven’t been communicated to you yet.”
Many airlines also offer a “Where’s My Plane?” feature in their apps. This lets you see whether the aircraft scheduled to operate your flight has arrived, is delayed en route, or hasn’t departed yet from its previous airport – an early signal of trouble.
−Josh Rivera
Even space launches are impacted by shutdown cuts
In addition to a 10% reduction in flights across 40 of the busiest airports, commercial space launches will also be given a curfew as of Monday, Nov 10.
"It is hereby ordered that, beginning at 6:00 a.m. EST on November 10, 2025, and until this Order is cancelled, Commercial space launches and reentries will only be permitted between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. local time," a Nov. 6 emergency order from the FAA states.
This comes at a time when Florida is nearing a record launch year. Some launches, such as Blue Origin's launch of the NASA ESCAPADE mission set for Sunday or a mission to the ISS, must go on time to send the spacecraft on the correct trajectory.
It remains to be seen how this will impact upcoming space launches.
−Brooke Edwards, Florida Today
Which airports are impacted by the cuts?
The FAA has selected the following airports for the gradual increase in cancellations:
- ANC – Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport
- ATL – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
- BOS – Boston Logan International Airport
- BWI – Baltimore/Washington International Airport
- CLT – Charlotte Douglas International Airport
- CVG – Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
- DAL – Dallas Love Field
- DCA – Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
- DEN – Denver International Airport
- DFW – Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
- DTW – Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
- EWR – Newark Liberty International Airport
- FLL – Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport
- HNL – Honolulu International Airport
- HOU – William P. Hobby Airport
- IAD – Washington Dulles International Airport
- IAH – George Bush Houston Intercontinental Airport
- IND – Indianapolis International Airport
- JFK – New York John F. Kennedy International Airport
- LAS – Las Vegas McCarran International Airport
- LAX – Los Angeles International Airport
- LGA – New York LaGuardia Airport
- MCO – Orlando International Airport
- MDW – Chicago Midway International Airport
- MEM – Memphis International Airport
- MIA – Miami International Airport
- MSP – Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport
- OAK – Oakland International Airport
- ONT – Ontario International Airport
- ORD – Chicago O’Hare International Airport
- PDX – Portland International Airport
- PHL – Philadelphia International Airport
- PHX – Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
- SAN – San Diego International Airport
- SDF – Louisville International Airport
- SEA – Seattle–Tacoma International Airport
- SFO – San Francisco International Airport
- SLC – Salt Lake City International Airport
- TEB – Teterboro Airport
- TPA – Tampa International Airport
What to do if your flight gets delayed or canceled
If your flight is canceled, Scott Keyes, founder of Going, recommended using the airlines' mobile app to rebook as soon as possible. If passengers need to speak with someone by phone, Keyes suggested calling one of the carrier’s international lines.
"The best thing travelers can do is to be as proactive as possible switching to a new flight,” Keyes told USA TODAY. “When a flight gets canceled, all of a sudden hundreds of passengers need new itineraries. There may only be a handful of seats left on the best flights, and it's a first-come, first-(served) endeavor.”
If your flight is canceled for any reason, including a shortage of air traffic controllers, you’re entitled to a full refund if you choose not to fly on alternative itineraries offered by your airline. The same goes for “significant” delays or changes.
Contributing: Nathan Diller, Kathryn Palmer and Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: More flights could be cut soon, officials say. Live updates on cancellations, delays.
Reporting by Jeanine Santucci, Marc Ramirez, N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Eve Chen, Kathleen Wong, Karissa Waddick and Zac Anderson, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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