The Department of Transportation announced on Wednesday that the government shutdown was resulting in a 10% reduction in flights at 40 airports across the United States.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy made this revelation at a press conference announcing the cuts, as previously reported by the Washington Examiner. It was a precautionary measure to avoid any disasters or emergencies, given the effect the shutdown has had on air traffic controllers. Duffy explained that reducing the number of flights was necessary to “reduce the risk profile in the national airspace.”
Among the airports reportedly affected by the reduction are Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Baltimore/Washington International Airport, and Washington Dulles International Airport. According to ABC News, here is a list of the 40 airports that will see a reduction in flights:
- Anchorage International
- Baltimore/Washington International
- Boston Logan International
- Charlotte Douglas International
- Chicago Midway
- Chicago O’Hare International
- Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International
- Dallas/Fort Worth International
- Dallas Love
- Denver International
- Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County
- Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International
- George Bush Houston Intercontinental
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
- Honolulu International
- Houston Hobby
- Indianapolis International
- Las Vegas McCarran International
- Los Angeles International
- Louisville International
- Memphis International
- Miami International
- Minneapolis/St Paul International
- New York John F Kennedy International
- New York LaGuardia
- Newark Liberty International
- Oakland International
- Ontario International
- Orlando International
- Philadelphia International
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International
- Portland International
- Ronald Reagan Washington National
- Salt Lake City International
- San Diego International
- San Francisco International
- Seattle/Tacoma International
- Tampa International
- Teterboro
- Washington Dulles International
The reduction in flights is scheduled to begin on Friday morning, according to reports. It will commence with a 4% reduction and ramp up to the 10% total, ABC News reported. One noteworthy exception is that international flights are not included in the cuts, and at least one airline company announced that “hub-to-hub flights will not be impacted.”
DUFFY SAYS ‘CERTAIN PARTS’ OF AIRSPACE MAY BE CLOSED NEXT WEEK DUE TO PROLONGED SHUTDOWN
“Our sole role is to make sure that we keep this airspace as safe as possible. Reduction in capacity at 40 of our locations. This is not based on light airline travel locations. This is about where the pressure is and how to really deviate the pressure,” said Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Bryan Bedford, who joined Duffy at the press conference on Wednesday.
“I anticipate there will be additional disruptions, there will be frustration,” Duffy said on Wednesday. “We are working with the airlines. They’re going to work with passengers, but in the end, our sole role is to make sure that we keep this airspace as safe as possible. The administrator is going to talk about all of the tools we’re going to deploy. One of them, though, is going to be that there is going to be a 10% reduction in capacity at 40 of our locations.”