United Airlines airplanes are stationed at terminal gates at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport on November 6, 2025 in Houston, Texas. BRANDON BELL / AFP
Travelers across the United States prepared on Thursday, November 6, for potential chaos ahead of widespread flight cancellations ordered by authorities due to the federal government shutdown. On Friday, airlines will begin implementing a 10% reduction in flights in 40 high-traffic areas of the country, complying with a Federal Aviation Administration order made on safety grounds. More than 650 US flights scheduled for Friday have been preemptively canceled Thursday, according to tracking website FlightAware, with the number increasing over the course of the day.
American Airlines said in a statement it was reducing its flight schedules "amounting to 220 flights cancelled each day." Delta Air Lines was axing about 170 flights scheduled for Friday, the carrier said, while broadcaster CNN reported Southwest Airlines nixed 100 flights set for that day.
The shutdown has left tens of thousands of air traffic controllers, airport security staff and others without pay, causing personnel shortages. On Thursday, more than 5,500 US flights were delayed, with 160 cancellations, FlightAware data showed, with travelers facing long lines at security checkpoints. Major airports were impacted, with travelers at Boston and Newark airports facing average delays of more than two hours, and those at Chicago's O'Hare and Washington's Reagan National more than an hour.
