Government Lowers US Air Travel as Government Closure Stretches On

As the unprecedented federal government closure nears day 38, US skies are set to become less congested. Contrastingly for US air travel hubs.

Safety Measures Implemented

The current administration's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced air travel is being curtailed to uphold air traffic control security during the federal government closure, now the longest recorded and with little indication of a agreement between GOP lawmakers and liberal officials to end the federal budget standoff.

Aviation authorities pinpointed “busiest routes” where the FAA says air traffic requires reduction by 4% by 6am ET on Friday, a move that would force airlines to call off thousands of journeys and create a chain reaction of scheduling complications and hold-ups at major US air terminals.

Official Statement

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

“It’s safe to fly today, tomorrow, and the day after because of the preventive measures we are taking,” the official stated.

Flight Cancellations

Analysts forecast numerous potentially thousands of flights might be called off. The cuts may constitute approximately 1,800 flights and over 268,000 seats total, per an calculation by the aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Impacted Locations

The affected airports covering numerous states include the highest-volume locations across the US – such as ATL, Charlotte, Denver, Dallas/Fort Worth, MCO, LAX, MIA and San Francisco. In some of the biggest cities – such as NYC, Houston and Chicago – several air terminals will be involved.

Each of the three air terminals serving the nation's capital region – IAD, BWI and Reagan National – will be impacted, likely creating delays and cancellations for government officials as well as other travelers.

Related Updates

• Below is the roster of domestic airports decreasing flights on Friday due to federal government funding lapse.
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