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The Federal Aviation Administration announced it would reduce air traffic by 10% across 40 "high volume" markets beginning this Friday. The reduction was prompted due to staffing shortages amid the ongoing government shutdown, which entered its 36th day, the longest in U.S. history. What they're saying: FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the agency is not going to wait for a problem to act, saying the shutdown is causing staffing pressures and "we can’t ignore it." What's next: Bedford and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said they will meet later Wednesday with airline leaders to figure out how to safely implement the reduction. Flight delays during shutdown Dig deeper: As of Wednesday, more than 1,000 flight delays within, into or out of the U.S. have been delayed, with 90 flights canceled, according to the flight tracking siteFlightAware.com. Normally, airlines strive to have at least 80% of their flights depart and arrive within 15 minutes of when they are scheduled. Aviation analytics firm Cirium said that since the shutdown began, the total number of delays overall has not fallen significantly below that goal because most of the disruptions so far have been no worse than what happens when a major thunderstorm moves across an airport. But on Sunday, only about 56% of Newark’s departures were on time, and the Orlando airport reported that only about 70% of its flights were on time, according to Cirium. As of midday Tuesday, there have been 1,932 flight delays reported across the United States, according to www.FlightAware.com. That is lower than what is typical although the FAA did say that flights in Phoenix were being delayed Tuesday morning because of staffing shortages. Strong winds are also causing delays at the Newark and LaGuardia airports Tuesday. Major airlines, aviation unions and the travel industry have been urging Congress to end this shutdown as soon as possible by voting to support the clean funding resolution that Republicans have proposed. The U.S. Travel Association said in a letter to Congressional leaders this week that the economy has already lost more than $4 billion because of the shutdown, and the industry worries the impact will get significantly worse if the shutdown continues into the holiday travel season. Why did the government shut down? The backstory: The government shutdown began on Oct. 1 and is now the longest shutdown in U.S. history. Republicans crafted a short-term measure to fund the government through Nov. 21, but Democrats insisted that the measure address their concerns on health care. RELATED: Sweeping layoffs 'have begun' as government shutdown drags on They want to reverse the Medicaid cuts in Trump’s mega-bill passed this summer as well as extend tax credits that make health insurance premiums more affordable for millions who purchase through the marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act. Republicans said that’s all a non-starter.
