Federal officials announced Wednesday that the U.S. will reduce air traffic by 10% across 40 “high-volume” markets starting on Friday, citing staffing shortages during the government shutdown.
“We have decided that a 10% reduction in scheduled capacity would be appropriate to continue to take the pressure off of our controllers,” said Bryan Bedford, the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Bedford and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy outlined the changes during a press conference on Wednesday, framing the measures as a way to keep air travel safe. Bedford said they will announce which markets will be affected on Thursday, adding that the restrictions will affect commercial airspace and space launches.
Bedord said the nation’s aviation system remains safe, but that the agency is seeing more fatigue among air traffic controllers, who are working unpaid during the congressional stalemate because they are classified as essential workers.
“We are seeing pressures build,” he said.
The government shutdown, now on its 36th day, is the longest in U.S. history. Many passengers have experienced flight delays as officials slow flight traffic to accommodate new staffing levels. More than 10,000 flights within, into or out of the U.S. experienced delays last weekend, while roughly 11,000 trips have faced delays this week, according to tracking service FlightAware.
Duffy said on Wednesday that the Transportation Department was working to recruit air traffic controllers before the shutdown, pointing to a shortage of at least 2,000 controllers.
