FAA to cut 10% of flights Friday due to shutdown; Atlanta effects unclear
American transportation regulators will cut flights by 10% across 40 of the nation’s busiest airports starting Friday if the government shutdown continues.
The move is to alleviate pressure on air traffic controllers who have been working without pay for weeks.
Officials did not disclose exactly which airports or airlines would be affected but promised further details on Thursday. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International is the busiest airport in the country and the world.
Some controllers have been forced to take side jobs, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday, which has created “staffing pressure in our airspace.”
That has prompted delays and cancellations, he said. And “there’s additional pressure that’s building in the system.”
To make sure the airspace remains safe, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the agency will reduce flight capacity by 10% at 40 airports, amounting to nearly 4,000 flights.
For the most part, he said, the airspace is running as efficiently as it does normally. “But as we dig deeper, what we find is issues of fatigue that our flight controllers are experiencing,” he said.
That data, based on safety reports from commercial pilots, has allowed them to zero in on specific markets with issues, Bedford said.
If the situation continues unchecked, he said, it could have safety consequences for air travel. “We do recognize that the controllers have been working fastidiously for the last five weeks with this huge burden over their head of lack of compensation,” he said.
“We are starting to see some evidence that that fatigue is building in the system,” Bedford said.
“The data is telling us that we need to do more, and we are going to do more.”
Delta Air Lines deferred comment to federal authorities.
About the Author
As a business reporter, Emma Hurt leads coverage of the Atlanta airport, Delta Air Lines, UPS, Norfolk Southern and other travel and logistics companies. Prior to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she worked as an editor and Atlanta reporter for Axios, a politics reporter for WABE News and a business reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
