The slowdown at 40 of the country’s busiest airports has persisted for three days, leading to more widespread disruptions. This includes over 7,000 additional delays today, as reported by FlightAware, a website that tracks air traffic interruptions.
More than a thousand flights were canceled on Friday and another thousand on Saturday.
Today, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy warned that American air traffic could “drastically decrease” if the federal government shutdown continues through the busy Thanksgiving travel period.
Last week, the FAA ordered flight cuts at the busiest airports in the country, as some air traffic controllers, who have not been paid for nearly a month, stopped reporting to work.
The reductions started on Friday at 4% and will increase to 10% by November 14. They are in effect from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time and will affect all commercial airlines.
Today alone, more than 2,100 flights have been canceled and over 7,000 flights have been delayed, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware.
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta recorded the most cancellations today, with 173, followed by Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, with 115.
The FAA stated that staff shortages at Newark and LaGuardia airports in New York were causing average departure delays of about 75 minutes.
The government has struggled with air traffic controller shortages for years, with several presidential administrations attempting to persuade controllers eligible for retirement to remain in their positions.
Sean Duffy stated that the government shutdown exacerbated the problem, leading some air traffic controllers to retire early.
The government shutdown began on October 1 due to a lack of agreement between Republicans and Democrats to approve the new federal budget that would fund government operations.
