Experts predict hundreds if not thousands of flights could be canceled at dozens of major airports – key US politics stories from 6 November 2025
As the record-breaking federal government shutdown stretches toward day 38, US airspace is about to get a little less busy. The same cannot be said for US airports.
Donald Trump’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said flights are being reduced to maintain air traffic control safety during the federal government shutdown, now the longest recorded and with no sign of a resolution between Republicans and Democrats to end the federal budget standoff.
Airline regulators identified “high-volume markets” where the FAA says air traffic must be reduced by 4% by 6am ET on Friday, a move that would force airlines to cancel thousands of flights and create a cascade of scheduling issues and delays at some of the nation’s largest airports.
Trump’s transportation chief, Sean Duffy, wrote on X Thursday that the decision was “not about politics” but rather “about assessing the data and alleviating building risk in the system as controllers continue working without pay”.
