FLETCHER – The Asheville Regional Airport was relatively quiet and uncrowded Nov. 7, the first day after a Federal Aviation Administration mandate to reduce flights out of certain airports.

Asheville is not one of the airports on the list, but ripple effects are widely expected, and some passengers were already looking ahead to their return journeys. The Trump administration’s move to reduce flights is in response to the government shutdown, which has air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration checkpoint workers going without pay.

The federal shutdown went into effect Oct. 1, and now in its 38th day is the longest in U.S. history.

The FAA flight reductions are slated for 40 major airports across the country, and are being phased in gradually, according to USA T

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