The government-mandated flight cancellations entered their third day on Nov. 9, leaving travelers once again glued to their phones and computers to see whether their flights are among the growing number of cuts. Among them are USA TODAY reporters Nathan Diller and Eve Chen, who are heading to Florida from Nashville and Atlanta, respectively.
More than 1,100 flights had already been canceled for Sunday by midafternoon, according to FlightAware data, following more than 1,000 on Saturday. The disruptions come as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that the situation is likely to deteriorate in the coming days if the government shutdown continues.
“It’s only going to get worse,” Duffy said in an interview on CNN, cautioning that air travel could slow to “a trickle” as the busy holiday season approaches.
Why the shutdown ending doesn't mean that flights would go back to normal immediately
The Department of Transportation first ordered airlines to reduce flight schedules by 4% at 40 major airports starting Nov. 7, with further cuts planned to rise to 6% by Nov. 11, 8% by Nov. 13 and 10% by Nov. 14. Duffy has since said reductions could reach as high as 15% to 20% if the shutdown persists, straining an already overburdened system as air traffic controllers continue to work without pay.
