Copyright independent
U.S. airlines are bracing for chaos and scrambling to rejig their schedules after Donald Trump’s administration ordered flight reductions at major airports due to a shortage of air traffic controllers caused by the ongoing government shutdown. Transport Secretary Sean Duffy ordered 10 percent flight cuts to start on Friday at 40 major U.S. airports, including those in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, affecting both commercial and cargo services. Smaller travel hubs are likely to feel the disruption too. The cuts are expected to hit hundreds of thousands of travelers with little notice. By late Thursday, over 800 flights had already been canceled and analysts have estimated the reductions could ultimately mean 1,800 flights a day being scrapped, a loss of 268,000 seats. As carriers struggle to adjust to the situation, United Airlines pledged it would do “everything we can to minimize disruptions to your travel plans” and was avoiding cancelations for long-haul international flights. American Airlines said it was still awaiting further information from the Federal Aviation Administration as to how its flights would be affected. Delta Airlines said it expected the majority of its flights to operate as planned.
