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Flight reductions ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration began Thursday at Logan International Airport — one day earlier than expected, officials said. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said during a press conference Wednesday that he would order a 10% cut in flights at 40 major airports due to air traffic control staffing shortages caused by the federal government shutdown. He said the cuts would start with a 4% reduction on Friday, then increase to 10%. Officials at Massport, the agency that operates Boston’s airport, said in a statement on social media Thursday afternoon that they have begun to see cancellations for Friday. “We are expecting airlines to reach out ot passengers directly,” they said. “We urge passengers to check with their airline before coming to the airport.” Read more: Refunds offered by major airline ahead of massive flight reductions starting this week The federal government has been shut down since Oct. 1 due to a deadlock in Congress over Democrats’ insistence on health care funding. It has become the longest shutdown in the country’s history. This has left about 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers across the country working without pay for over a month, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. This has led to staffing shortages. Officials at Logan previously told MassLive that while other major airports had seen increased delays and cancellations, Boston’s air travel hub had not. Delays at the airport during the shutdown have been mainly due to weather conditions or ongoing construction on one of the runways, which is expected to continue through mid-November.
