US Government Shutdown leads to air travel chaos as Duffy warns of up to 20% flight cuts
November 10, 2025
The US government shutdown led to air travel chaos over the weekend, with the most severe aviation disruptions since the funding lapse at the beginning of October. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered reductions in air traffic across 40 major airports to cope with a growing shortage of air traffic controllers working without pay.
A weekend of mounting air travel disruption
According to FlightAware flight cancellation data cited by the Associated Press, Sunday, November 9, marked the worst day of the shutdown with more than 10,000 flight delays and at least 2,700 cancellations nationwide.
The cascading cancellations began on Friday as the FAA implemented the first phase of mandated flight reductions. As reported by Reuters and the AP:
- Friday (Nov 7): about 1,000 cancellations.
- Saturday (Nov 8): roughly 1,500 cancellations
- Sunday (Nov 9): more than 2,700 cancellations and over 10,000 delays.
Airlines scrambled to retime departures, while passengers faced hours-long waits and sudden gate changes. Politico reported that Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) logged more than 570 cancellations on Sunday, with the weather causing further disruption. Newark Liberty (EWR) had the second-highest number of cancellations on Sunday, at 265.
Disruptions are expected to continue to escalate as the phased flight cancellations take effect.
FlightAware data at the time of writing shows:
- Total delays within, into, or out of the United States today: 651
- Total cancellations within, into, or out of the United States today: 1,404
- Skywest has the most flight cancellations (277), followed by Southwest Airlines (270).
- Southwest also has the most flight delays of all US carriers (129)
- Chicago O’Hare airport is the most affected by departure cancellations (112)
- Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson is most affected by arrival cancellations (111)
FAA flight cuts could rise to 20%
In its Emergency Order mandating flight reductions, the FAA said the reductions were necessary to maintain safe airspace management and avoid overloading stressed controllers.
Under the plan:
- 4% cut began on November 7
- 6% expected on November 11
- 8% cut by November 13
- 10% by November 14
As Reuters reported, Duffy warned that he might order 20% cuts to air traffic if the shutdown continues, as more controllers fail to show up for work. “I assess the data,” Duffy said. “We’re going to make decisions based on what we see in the airspace.”
Travellers should brace for a difficult Thanksgiving holiday
The US government shutdown has moved from a political standoff to an operational crisis for the nation’s air system. With mandated flight reductions ramping up, airlines brace for another difficult week. As phased cuts expand, the ripple effects are expected to intensify and could affect the Thanksgiving holiday air travel peak.
“It’s only going to get worse… the two weeks before Thanksgiving, you’re going to see air travel be reduced to a trickle,” Duffy is quoted by Reuters as saying on CNN’s “State of the Union” programme.
This is the longest government shutdown in the country’s history, surpassing the previous record of 35 days set in 2019, which ended when lawmakers finally reached an agreement on funding after air travel conditions became untenable.
