Inside a tower at Denver International Airport, federal air traffic controllers have kept air travel alive through the government shutdown, even as the Trump administration on Thursday ordered a reduction in flights at 40 major airports, including DIA, forcing airlines into a scramble and complicating the lives of travelers nationwide.

Nearly 700 planned Friday flights were cut from airline schedules — including more than 70 in and out of Denver, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions. That number, already four times higher than Thursday’s daily total, was likely to keep climbing.

The 31 controllers assigned to DIA’s tower received notices Thursday saying their pay next week, again, would be zero. Federal Aviation Administration officials didn’t respond to DIA

See Full Page