US Air Flight Reductions Will Increase If Shutdown Continues – Reductions to Impact Domestic Flights Only

ABC NEWS, By Jack Moore, Jon Haworth, Ayesha Ali, and Nadine El-Bawab

November 7, 2025, 4:00 PM

The US Government remains Shutdown. More than 16 US air traffic control facilities are experiencing worker shortages on Friday (November 7).

Officials at the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) decided on Friday to gradually increase air travel flight reductions to 10% after the agency’s safety team determined it would be the best approach, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters at Reagan National Airport. It is possible the Department of Transportation may ask airlines to cancel more than 10% of their flights if air traffic controllers keep calling out in higher numbers, due to non-payment of salaries since the Government Shutdown began on October 1, 2025.

Despite nearly 1,000 flights being cancelled on Friday, there are still major delays at airports across the country due to staffing issues in air traffic controller towers and centers. Pilots have reported that air traffic controllers are slower to respond, not using proper terminology and there have been more incidents of planes getting too close together, Duffy warned.

Last weekend, a surge in callouts among air traffic controllers led to strained staffing at multiple airports across the US – including in the New York City area where 80% of controllers were absent at one point, the FAA reported.  Air traffic controllers are required to work without pay for the duration of a Government Shutdown.

“I want it to be fixed, but also I have to continue to look at data and if this continues, and I have more [air traffic] controllers who decide they can’t come to work and control the airspace, but instead have to take a second job, with that we might go to 15% or 20% reduction,” Duffy said.

The FAA decided not to cut any international flights as it would be a violation of international agreements with the countries, according to Duffy.

The FAA is exempting international flights from reductions to comply with international agreements and to avoid potential retaliatory measures from other countries. While direct international flights are not canceled, international travelers may still be impacted by delays or cancellations of their connecting domestic flights.

“We have international agreements that we abide by, and because of those international agreements, I’m not going to impact those international flights. And because if I do, what will happen is we have other countries that are waiting to have a breach of those contracts from the US so they can cut down American flights, and then that would have a very long-lasting impact.”