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Amid the historic federal government standoff approaches day 38, US skies are set to become somewhat quieter. The same cannot be said for US airports.

Safety Measures Implemented

The federal air traffic agency has said air travel is being curtailed to uphold air traffic control operational integrity during the federal government shutdown, now the longest recorded and with no apparent progress of a resolution between Republicans and Democrats to end the federal budget standoff.

Aviation authorities selected “congested corridors” where the FAA says air traffic must be reduced by 4% by 6 a.m. Eastern on Friday, an action that will compel airlines to scrub numerous flights and trigger a chain reaction of scheduling issues and delays at some of the nation’s largest airports.

Government Commentary

The federal transportation leader, Sean Duffy, wrote on online platforms Thursday that the move was “not about politics” but rather “involving evaluation the data and mitigating accumulating danger in the system as controllers continue working without pay”.

“Flying is safe today, tomorrow, and the day after because of the forward-thinking steps we are taking,” Duffy remarked.

Travel Disruptions

Specialists anticipate hundreds if not thousands of flights might be called off. These reductions may constitute up to 1,800 flights and more than 268,000 seats total, according to an calculation by the aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Impacted Locations

The affected airports covering numerous states include the highest-volume locations across the US – including ATL, Charlotte, Denver, DFW, Florida destination, California gateway, Florida hotspot and Bay Area airport. In some of the biggest cities – like NYC, Houston and Illinois hub – several air terminals will be affected.

Each of the three air terminals serving the Washington DC area – Washington Dulles international, BWI Airport and Reagan National – will be affected, likely creating flight disruptions for government officials as well as additional passengers.

Related Updates

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