As American travelers on Nov. 8 entered second day of government-mandated flight cancellations, a looming warning of growing cuts has many on edge over the fate of their return flights and upcoming holiday plans.

Some disruptions and delays were reported during the first day of cuts, but the outlook for the coming days is less certain as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has signaled flight cancellations will likely grow if the government shutdown continues.

As Scott Wolf and his wife Madeleine Nicholson prepared to board their Nov. 7 flight out of Chicago that would get them to New York in plenty of time for his sister's rehearsal dinner and wedding, the couple worried about getting home on Nov. 9 and what might happen during the upcoming holiday.

"Why don’t we end it today, that way we can get home on time?" Wolf said of the shutdown.

Airlines announced hundreds of flight reductions on the first day of the cuts, and airports warned of long waits and delays. Travelers shared with the USA TODAY Network their worries about getting stranded or missing important events due to the cuts. In one case on Nov. 7, a woman ended up in a different airport a couple hours from her original destination when her original flight was canceled and she rebooked a different route home.

The first round of 4% cuts at 40 airports across the United States started Nov. 7, and is set to increase to 6% by Nov. 11, 8% by Nov. 13 and 10% by Nov. 14, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy originally announced.

But Duffy said on Nov. 7 that number could rise to 15% or even 20% of all scheduled flights as the record-breaking government shutdown stretches on and air traffic controllers work without pay, adding "strain" to the system.

The good news for weekend travelers is that cuts will be fewer over the weekend, with flight volumes generally decreasing on the weekends.

Here's what to know as the airline disruptions enter their second day:

John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York moving smoothly

On Nov. 8 at New York’s John F. Kennedy International, one of the affected airports, security moved relatively smoothly at Terminal 5, which houses JetBlue Airlines.

Just after 4:20 p.m. ET, two boards showed over 50 departures, with six canceled flights. Another board, listing 27 arrivals, had about six canceled flights.

The terminal, on a holiday weekend, appeared noticeably more empty than usual.

At 4:30 p.m. ET, there were a total of 94 cancellations at John F Kennedy International Airport, according to FlightAware data.

‒ Eduardo Cuevas

How many flights have been canceled?

Over 1,000 flights have been canceled across the United States on the second day the FAA limited flight capacity at 40 major airports.

As of about 2:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 8, FlightAware data showed 1,012 cancellations for flights "within, into, or out of the United States today."

For context, some winter storms can result in thousands of cancellations.

While not all of the delayed and canceled flights were caused by the FAA-mandated cuts, airlines have reported cutting hundreds of flights due to the order. Read more.

‒ Eduardo Cuevas

Are international flights affected?

The flight cuts do not require airlines to cancel any international flights, Duffy and Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Brian Bedford said.

However, airlines can choose to make changes to their international flights if they want, they said. International flights are generally higher ticket items for airlines, and experts say their bottom lines will help drive decisions on which flights to cut.

United, Southwest and Delta airlines have all said their international flights won't see reductions. Still, international travelers could face trouble if they have domestic connecting flights that get canceled or delayed.

Why is the government shutdown disrupting flights?

Thousands of federal workers have been sent home amid the government shutdown. Those whose jobs are deemed essential – including many air traffic controllers – are still at work without pay.

The FAA says, after reviewing data over the past month, that the "system is stressed," according to an emergency order. Since the shutdown began on Oct. 1, delays and "unpredictable staffing shortages" are "driving fatigue" and "risk is further increasing."

“We are seeing signs of stress in the system, so we are proactively reducing the number of flights to make sure the American people continue to fly safely,” Bedford said.

-Cybele Mayes-Osterman

Cuts begin just weeks before Thanksgiving travel

As she waited for a friend to pick her up curbside at the Denver airport Nov. 7, Frontier passenger Merry Katherine Burnett, 57, said her morning flight from Tampa went off without a hitch apart from a long security line. But she's growing concerned about Thanksgiving plans; her three adult children are supposed to fly into North Carolina via Charlotte, which is on the list of airports for mandatory flight reductions.

"For me, if I end up staying an extra day, it's not a big deal. But I do worry about holiday travel," she said. "And I worry about families that maybe don't have the resources to stay another day somewhere."

If the government doesn't reopen and flight schedules become restored in time, "Thanksgiving's going to be a slaughter," said Nicholson at O'Hare airport.

-Trevor Hughes, Michael Loria, Karissa Waddick and Josh Rivera

'Completely in panic'

April and Jeff Weihe, of Louisville, were flying out of the city's airport on the morning of Nov. 7 for a vacation to Iceland they’ve been planning for more than a year.

The couple was already nervous about flying during the shutdown, a concern only amplified by the recent FAA order.

“This whole week, we've been completely in panic, like, ‘Oh, my gosh, are we actually going to make it?’” April Weihe said.

The husband and wife had made contingency plans, including driving up to Chicago to make their connecting flight, or, if all else failed, taking a backup road trip to Asheville, North Carolina.

But, as of midday Nov. 7, they were on their way to cross off a bucket list goal – seeing the northern lights.

-Matthew Glowicki, the Louisville Courier Journal

Airlines have canceled hundreds of flights so far

Airlines canceled hundreds of flights on Nov. 7, the first day of the flight reduction order and plan for more cancellations through the weekend. The cuts on Nov. 7 began at 6 a.m. ET and totaled about 700 flights from the four largest carriers: American, Delta, Southwest and United.

American told Reuters it canceled 220 flights on Nov. 7, which affected 12,000 passengers. The airline re-routed a majority of them within a few hours, it said.

Southwest Airlines said it cut more than 100 flights at 34 airports Nov. 7 and would be cutting dozens more Nov. 8, but expected the cuts on day two to impact fewer than 100 flights, adding that "the vast majority" of customers' flights "will not be disrupted."

Delta Airlines said it canceled about 170 flights on Nov. 7. The airline usually operates about 5,000 flights per day, it said.

In California alone, over 120 flights were canceled and nearly 400 were delayed on Nov. 7, reported the Palm Springs Desert Sun, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Marjorie Taylor Greene opts for a train amid flight cuts

GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she took the train instead of a flight from Washington to her home state of Georgia because of "flight delays and cancellations" as the government shutdown disrupts hundreds of flights and snarls travelers' plans.

"Due to flight delays and cancellations, I took the Amtrak train from DC to Georgia," Greene posted to X alongside a video of "the morning views of my north Georgia mountains."

-Cybele Mayes-Osterman

If your flight is cut, you are entitled to a refund

Duffy and Bedford said 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

'I shouldn't be here': Cancellations upend travel plans

Carey Driscoll found herself in Indianapolis unexpectedly the morning of Nov. 7 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

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

Contributing: Marc Ramirez, N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Eve Chen, Kathleen Wong, Karissa Waddick and Zac Anderson, USA TODAY; Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Some travelers 'completely in panic' as more flight cuts loom. Live updates.

Reporting by Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect