American Airlines was forced to briefly <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/faa-issues-american-airlines-nationwide-ground-stop-over-it-outage-2026-07-28/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">halt all departures</a> nationwide Tuesday evening after an internal technology failure disrupted the connectivity of key operating systems, stranding passengers and delaying more than a thousand flights before service resumed later that night.
The Federal Aviation Administration&#8217;s Air Traffic Control System Command Center ordered the ground stop around 6:30 p.m. ET, barring American Airlines and its regional affiliates from taking off anywhere in the country.
The airline confirmed that a technical problem had temporarily disrupted the links between some of its systems, and said crews worked quickly to bring everything back online. The stoppage lasted under an hour before the FAA lifted it and American resumed departures, saying its infrastructure was functioning normally again.
Flight-tracking services reported that roughly 1,100 flights — about 30% of American Airlines&#8217; schedule for the day — were delayed, while more than 200 flights were canceled outright. The outage compounded an already difficult night for travelers, as severe thunderstorms across the East Coast had independently triggered delays and ground stops at several major airports. Aircraft that were already airborne when the outage struck were not affected, and American used social media to update customers as its IT staff worked to restore functionality.
Carriers rely on a chain of interconnected platforms: reservation and booking software, crew-scheduling tools, weight-and-balance calculations, dispatch systems, gate and check-in technology, baggage handling networks, and links to air traffic control and regulatory data feeds.
A breakdown in any single link can have ripple effects. Even a fully-fueled, mechanically sound aircraft can be grounded if crew-legality systems or dispatch software go offline, since federal rules require that data before a flight can take off.
This kind of failure is not unprecedented. In March, a major technology failure catalyzed thousands of flight cancellations and delays. “A faulty software update tied to widely used cybersecurity tools caused Microsoft Windows systems to fail across multiple sectors, with commercial aviation among the hardest hit,” The Traveler <a href="https://www.thetraveler.org/us-flight-chaos-as-it-outage-grounds-thousands-of-trips/#google_vignette">reported</a>. “The resulting outage led major North American airlines including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Air Canada, and several smaller carriers to halt or sharply curtail operations as critical dispatch, check-in, and crew-management systems went offline.”
In January 2023, a database malfunction <a href="https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-notam-statement">knocked out</a> the FAA&#8217;s Notice to Air Missions system, which distributes safety alerts pilots are legally required to review before flying. Because the system could not reliably push updated notices to flight crews, the FAA grounded all domestic departures nationwide until service was restored, producing widespread delays.

995BF52E-AA4B-4F94-A45C-77727458FA39_1_201_a

FAA Forced To Ground All American Airlines Flights

Air Travel

Airlines

Airports

American Airlines

Delay

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

The Trump administration has launched a recruiting campaign aimed at gamers as it looks to address a nationwide air traffic controller shortage. 
A recruitment video released on Friday by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) tells gamers they can put their skills to work directing airline traffic while earning high salaries. The hiring window opens on April 17 and will be capped at 8,000 applicants, the New York Times reported. 
“Become an air traffic controller. It’s not a game. It’s a career,” the text of the campaign says. “You’ll keep millions of people safe every day. (And make a lot of money).”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Air Traffic Control Hiring: It&#039;s Not a Game. It&#039;s a Career." width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9MczWfLpBcw?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The video blends clips of people playing video games like Fortnite with footage of busy airports, noting that average salaries can reach $155,000 after three years. 
“To reach the next generation of air traffic controllers, we need to adapt,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/10/us/politics/air-traffic-controller-gamer.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Z1A.kfxQ.LtxjXYxBFWA0&amp;smid=url-share">told</a> The New York Times, adding that the campaign “taps into a growing demographic of young adults who have many of the hard skills it takes to be a successful controller.”
The FAA currently has around 11,000 air traffic controllers on staff, short of its target of 14,663 positions. 
“We’re really going to start to see gains about two and a half to three years from now,” Heather Fernuik, the executive director of the FAA’s human resources office, told The Times. 
The hiring process can be lengthy, with certification taking up to six years, including initial screenings, a four- to six-month FAA training course, and on-the-job training. 
The FAA <a href="https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/fy25-air-traffic-controller-workforce-plan_0.pdf">hired</a> more than 1,800 controllers in fiscal year 2024, exceeding its hiring benchmarks. The agency plans to bring on at least 8,900 new controllers through 2028 and has moved to speed up hiring by increasing starting pay and streamlining the process.  
Still, a shortage persists. A January 2026 <a href="https://www.gao.gov/blog/while-thousands-applied-become-air-traffic-controllers-theres-still-shortage-we-looked-why">report</a> from the Government Accountability Office found that while applications have surged in recent years, the number of controllers has fallen by about 6% even as flights have increased by roughly 10%.  
The report blamed government shutdowns, the COVID pandemic, and a high number of people dropping out of the workforce from 2019 to 2024.

MixCollage-10-Apr-2026-07-53-AM-1322

Trump Admin Turns To Gamers For Critical Safety Roles

air traffic controllers

Sean Duffy

Trump Administration

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted a previous order on Wednesday that had grounded all flights departing El Paso International Airport in Texas for ten days due to “special security reasons.&#8221;
The White House told The Daily Wire shortly after the reversal that the move was related to drug cartels.
&#8220;Mexican cartel drones breached U.S. airspace. The Department of War took action to disable the drones,&#8221; the White House said. &#8220;The FAA and DOW have determined there is no threat to commercial travel.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NEW: Administration official tells <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDailyWire</a> that the FAA temporarily grounded all flights over El Paso because “Mexican cartel drones breached US airspace.”
“The Department of War took action to disable the drones,” the official said. “The FAA and DOW have determined there…
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/2021594743180828908?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Similar <a href="https://tfr.faa.gov/tfr3/?page=detail_6_2234">restrictions</a> were put in place for Santa Teresa, New Mexico, about 15 miles away from El Paso. El Paso, which borders Mexico, is a city of around 678,000 people. 
&#8220;The temporary closure of airspace over El Paso has been lifted. There is no threat to commercial aviation. All flights will resume as normal,&#8221; the FAA announced Wednesday morning, just a few hours after announcing flights would be grounded for ten days. The airport handles up to 100 flights daily.
The <a href="https://tfr.faa.gov/tfr3/?page=detail_6_2233">notice</a> from the FAA put in place flight restrictions for a 10-mile radius around El Paso. Planes flying above 18,000 feet would have been allowed to fly over, but the limitations did not extend into Mexican airspace. 
After the initial grounding was announced, Democrat Rep. Veronica Escobar, whose district includes El Paso, <a href="https://x.com/RepEscobar">called</a> for the FAA to lift the restrictions. 
“The highly consequential decision by FAA to shut down the El Paso Airport for 10 days is unprecedented and has resulted in significant concern within the community,” she said. “From what my office and I have been able to gather overnight and early this morning there is no immediate threat to the community or surrounding areas.”
After the restrictions were lifted, Escobar said there were no safety concerns.
&#8220;The FAA is rightfully lifting the Temporary Restricted Airspace. I will again reiterate there is no threat to El Paso or the surrounding areas,&#8221; she said.
State Senator Cesar Blanco, a Democrat, said his office was contacting multiple agencies to understand the justification for the temporary grounding. 
“Actions like this are taken out of an abundance of caution to protect our community. I encourage everyone to remain calm and patient as we await further information. We will share updates as they become available,” he said. 
&nbsp;

El Paso International Airport

White House Responds After Taking Out Mexican Cartel Drones In U.S. Airspace

El Paso

National Security

Southern Border

Texas

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss what their investigation revealed about the 2025 mid-air collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a United States Army helicopter that killed 67.
The hearing comes nearly a year to the day of the crash that happened January 29, 2025. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told a <a href="https://x.com/petemuntean/status/2016230873557856470?s=20">reporter</a> after Tuesday&#8217;s hearing that the incident that took place in Washington, D.C., was &#8220;100% preventable.&#8221;
Investigators said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ignored warning signs about a dangerous level of air traffic at Reagan National Airport (DCA) before the tragic crash.
“We have an entire tower who took it upon themselves to try to raise concerns over and over and over and over again only to get squashed by management and everybody above them within FAA,” Homendy said at the hearing.
Homendy and other NTSB members said the crash resulted from systemic failures at multiple institutions, including too much reliance on pilots to maintain visual separation between aircraft — the safe distance every plane has to maintain to avoid collisions.
During the hearing, NTSB members showed the most accurate recreation of the crash to date. A series of presentations showed how the Army helicopter and the American Airlines jet collided, with the helicopter blade slicing off one of the wings of the jet. Both aircraft immediately fell into the Potomac River.
According to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2026/01/27/final-ntsb-hearing-dca-crash/">The Washington Post</a>, there was a wide array of issues that led to the tragedy. Per the outlet, instruments gave inaccurate readings, there was a lack of identification and collision avoidance technology on both the helicopter and the commercial jet, the airspace was crowded, and basic failures occurred including FAA maps that didn&#8217;t have clear guidance on the exact details of the helicopter&#8217;s route. The plane crew was never warned about the helicopter from air traffic controllers.
Per The Washington Post, the helicopter crew most likely confused the American Airlines aircraft with a plane that was farther away. Investigators also found the helicopter crew thought the aircraft was flying lower than it was. Investigators said Tuesday that the crash could have been prevented if the helicopter crew knew the instruments on the aircraft might have displayed inaccurate information about the altitude.
Homendy, who was visibly frustrated, said the two routes were close together and the FAA should have known the dangers.
“How is it that no one, absolutely no one in the FAA did the work to figure out there was only 75 feet, at best, 75 feet of vertical separation between a helicopter on Route 4 and an airplane landing on runway 33?” she asked at the hearing.
A controller at DCA was managing five helicopters and six aircraft after working alone for more than five hours at the time of the crash. The Washington Post reports nine times in the 18 minutes before the crash, the approaching collision alerts can be heard in the background of tower transmissions. However, investigators said there&#8217;s no evidence that any of the pilots or controllers involved that night were unqualified, impaired, or sleep-deprived &#8212; but they said the FAA did not conduct timely drug and alcohol testing for the controllers in the tower that evening in the aftermath of the accident.
Since this incident, the FAA banned non-essential helicopter traffic near DCA and closed the route the Black Hawk chopper took the night of the crash.
The helicopter had three crew members on board. The commercial jet was carrying 60 passengers, including youth figure skaters and coaches. United States figure skater Maxim Naumov lost his parents in the crash. He will compete in next month&#8217;s Winter Olympics in his parents&#8217; honor.

Credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images

NTSB Chair Says D.C. Plane Crash That Killed 67 Was ‘100% Preventable’

General

Plane Crash

U.S.

Washington D.C.

BOSTON — &#8220;We were not going to get to Thanksgiving.&#8221;
That&#8217;s the assessment of Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, the man who was in charge of keeping planes in the sky as Democrats kept the government shutdown for the longest period in American history.
&#8220;Had the shutdown not ended, we were not going to get to Thanksgiving,&#8221; Duffy told The Daily Wire from the Secretary&#8217;s Cup at Fenway Park in Boston. &#8220;Would have been not just mass chaos, I think we would have seen airlines actually ground their fleets.&#8221;
&#8220;It was getting bad fast,&#8221; he said. &#8220;So what we&#8217;ve seen now is our controllers have come back online. We have more normal staffing levels. We&#8217;re almost back to staffing levels that we had before the shutdown. So what we&#8217;re doing now is analyzing the data to make sure that we have the numbers going in the right direction towards safety.&#8221;
&#8220;And when that happens,&#8221; he added, &#8220;we&#8217;re going to allow the number of flights to go back up again.&#8221;
The government shutdown, which began on October 1, ended on November 12 when President Donald Trump signed the funding bill passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. It was the longest shutdown in American history, and Duffy, as well as other administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, had warned of significant Thanksgiving travel issues if it had continued.
As it is, the FAA predicted on Friday that this Thanksgiving travel season would be the busiest in 15 years, also predicting that Tuesday would be the peak travel day for those flying, with more than 52,000 flights.
<div style="width: 615px" class="wp-caption alignnone align-center"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/inline-images/2025-AJR-050_Holiday_Summer%20Forecast%20Thanksgiving_605x380_SM04.jpg" alt="Line graph showing flight volume during Thanksgiving week. Courtesy FAA. " width="605" height="380" align="center" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="20637729-e9d1-425e-80f1-fee3ea08cf84" />Line graph showing flight volume during Thanksgiving week. Courtesy FAA.</div>
“Thanks to the dedication of our air traffic controllers and every FAA employee, we are ready for the holiday rush and take pride in helping travelers reach their friends and families during this important time of year,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said. “I am deeply grateful to our entire FAA team. Even through a period of record-high traffic, their unwavering commitment keeps the system running safely.”
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The FAA said air traffic controllers would use a range of strategies to keep flights operating safely, encouraging passengers to be &#8220;patient, be kind and follow crew member instructions.&#8221;
<a href="https://newsroom.aaa.com/2025/11/aaa-thanksgiving-travel-forecast-2025/">According to AAA</a>, almost 82 million Americans are projected to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday. That&#8217;s an increase of 1.6 million travelers compared to last year, &#8220;setting a new overall record.&#8221;
For his part, Duffy is encouraging those flying for the holidays to dress well to bring “civility” back to air travel.
“People dress up like they’re going to bed when they fly,” <a href="https://x.com/SecDuffy/status/1991334266974658936?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Duffy shared on Fox News earlier this month</a>. “We want to push people as we come into a really busy travel season, help people out, be in a good mood, dress up.”
A video released by the Transportation Department shows passengers flying in business suits and dresses, then pans to modern-day passengers in pajamas, sweatpants, and other casual garb.
“Things aren’t what they used to be,” Duffy said. “Let’s bring civility and manners back.”
WATCH THE FULL VIDEO WITH SEAN DUFFY:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I spent a day at Fenway Park with <a href="https://twitter.com/SecDuffy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecDuffy</a> attending the Secretaries&#8217;Cup!
We chatted about everything, including our big families, how close airlines were to grounding entire fleets, and how important it was for his mariners to beat Kristi Noem’s coasties in football. <a href="https://t.co/4iXh0pHMWr">pic.twitter.com/4iXh0pHMWr</a>
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1993766989819728360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Screenshot 2025-11-26 at 12.45.10 PM

Sean Duffy: Airlines Were Days Away From Grounding Entire Fleets Ahead Of Thanksgiving

Air and Space

airplanes

Government Shutdown

Politics

Thanksgiving

Air traffic <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-floats-plan-to-reward-air-traffic-controllers-who-didnt-take-time-off-due-to-shutdown">controllers</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/noem-hands-out-10000-checks-to-tsa-agents-who-worked-through-shutdown">TSA agents</a> are getting paid again, and the Federal Aviation Administration is confident that it &#8220;is ready to get more than 360,000 flights to their destinations&#8221; for the Thanksgiving travel period. But Americans should be prepared for long lines and crowded terminals as the FAA expects the busiest Thanksgiving travel week since 2010.
Tuesday, November 25, will be the busiest travel day before Thanksgiving, with 52,185 forecasted flights, the FAA <a href="https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-expects-busiest-thanksgiving-travel-period-15-years">said</a> on Friday. Sunday, November 30, will be the busiest travel day after the holiday, with 51,268 forecasted flights. Some storm systems could also affect air travel. Forecasts call for rain in the Northeast, while wind and rain could move into the Great Lakes region and Seattle around Thanksgiving Day, according to the FAA.
A total of 82 million Americans are expected to travel at least 50 miles from their homes for the Thanksgiving holiday, which is an increase of 1.6 million travelers compared to last Thanksgiving, according to <a href="https://newsroom.aaa.com/2025/11/aaa-thanksgiving-travel-forecast-2025/">AAA</a>. Seventy-three million Americans are expected to travel by car for the holiday, while six million Americans are expected to travel by air.
The busy travel week comes as the airline industry seeks to get back into a normal rhythm after the record-breaking 43-day government shutdown caused numerous disruptions. On Monday, the FAA lifted its temporary flight restrictions that affected 40 of the busiest airports in the country, and normal operations resumed.
“Thanks to the dedication of our air traffic controllers and every FAA employee, we are ready for the holiday rush and take pride in helping travelers reach their friends and families during this important time of year,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. “I am deeply grateful to our entire FAA team. Even through a period of record-high traffic, their unwavering commitment keeps the system running safely.”
<div id="attachment_1004229" style="width: 930px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1004229" class="wp-image-1004229 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-21T134817.108-920x576.jpg" alt="" width="920" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-21T134817.108-920x576.jpg 920w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-21T134817.108-300x188.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-21T134817.108-768x481.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-2025-11-21T134817.108.jpg 1078w" sizes=" (max-width: 920px) 100vw, 920px" />FAA</div>
The government shutdown resulted in an air traffic controller shortage as many controllers called in sick to either stay home or look for other work as they missed paychecks. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Thursday that 776 air traffic controllers and technicians who remained on the job and showed up to work every day during the government shutdown received $10,000 bonus checks.
&#8220;President Trump wanted to give air traffic controllers and technicians BONUSES for showing up to work EVERY DAY during the government shutdown… and TODAY IS THE DAY!&#8221; Duffy wrote. &#8220;776 patriotic men and women will get $10K checks, just in time for Christmas. God bless the patriots of our skies!&#8221;
The FAA also kicked off a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/no-more-pajamas-folks-is-it-time-to-dress-to-impress-on-planes-again">new campaign</a> on airport civility this week ahead of the holiday travel season.
“People dress up like they’re going to bed when they fly,” Duffy said. “We want to push people as we come into a really busy travel season, help people out, be in a good mood, dress up.”

Airport

Flying For The Holidays? Prepare For The Busiest Thanksgiving Travel Week In 15 Years.

The saying goes &#8220;you can&#8217;t buy class,&#8221; and that&#8217;s true for the 13,800 unruly airline passengers who have been reported by the Federal Aviation Administration since 2021.
The Trump administration wants to bring &#8220;civility&#8221; back to air travel through their &#8220;The Golden Age Of Travel Starts With You&#8221; campaign. One way they offer pertains to passenger attire.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wants travelers to ask themselves: are you dressing with respect?
&#8220;People dress up like they&#8217;re going to bed when they fly,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/SecDuffy/status/1991334266974658936?s=20">Duffy said</a>. &#8220;We want to push people as we come into a really busy travel season, help people out, be in a good mood, dress up.&#8221;
In the campaign video released by the U.S. Department of Transportation, passengers are shown from previous decades flying in business suits and dresses, before showing the modern day jet setter in pajamas, sweatpants, and in some cases even bare feet. The passengers from the past showed courtesy, while the present-day passengers were seen fighting with each other on the plane.
&#8220;Things aren&#8217;t what they used to be,&#8221; Duffy said. &#8220;Let&#8217;s bring civility and manners back.&#8221;
Duffy has a checklist of questions he said will help put friendliness back in the skies.
1. &#8220;Are you helping a pregnant woman put her bag in the overhead bin?&#8221;
2. &#8220;Are you dressing with respect?&#8221;
3. &#8220;Are you keeping control of your children?&#8221;
4. &#8220;Are you saying &#8216;thank you&#8217; to your flight attendants and pilots?&#8221;
5. &#8220;Are you saying &#8216;please&#8217; and &#8216;thank you&#8217; in general?&#8221;
To put it simply, Duffy said &#8220;manners don&#8217;t stop at the gate.&#8221;
But research shows &#8220;class&#8221; is only being used as a seating designation instead of a character trait.
In-flight outbursts have seen a 400% increase since 2019, according to the FAA. These can range from disrupting the peace to violence.
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In 2021 alone, the FAA reported 5,973 unruly passengers. The return to the skies post-COVID saw the most chaos with six times the amount of unruly passengers in 2021 versus 2020. In 2024, the amount of uncontrollable passengers was double what was reported in 2019.
&#8220;The campaign is intended to jumpstart a nationwide conversation around how we can all restore courtesy and class to air travel,&#8221; the DOT announcement said. &#8220;This won’t just make the travel experience better for the flying public – it will ensure the safety of passengers, gate workers, flight attendants, and pilots.&#8221;
Duffy is eager to improve the flying experience during its busiest time of the year. AAA projected 81.8 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home over the Thanksgiving holiday this year from November 25 to December 1.
&#8220;Let’s be merry this holiday season as we fly!&#8221; Duffy said. &#8220;Dress up to go to the airport, help a stranger out, and be in a good mood. We can bring civility back, it’s as easy as that!&#8221;

Sean P. Duffy

No More Pajamas, Folks: Is It Time To Dress To Impress On Planes Again?

Christmas

Safety

The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it halved a requirement that U.S. airlines reduce domestic flights at 40 major airports from 6% to 3% starting Saturday to address air traffic control safety concerns after the end of the government shutdown.
Airlines have been pushing for the FAA to end the required cuts entirely and were largely not in compliance with the FAA order that required the 6% cut on Friday. It remains to be seen if they will be in compliance with the 3% order.
&#8220;The 3% reduction will remain in place while the FAA monitors system performance throughout the weekend and evaluates whether normal operations can resume,&#8221; the FAA said.
Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, said airlines canceled just 2% of overall flights Friday, down from 3.5% on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday, air traffic controllers and other FAA employees began receiving back pay equal to about 70% of what they are owed excluding overtime.
Airlines have been privately making the case to the FAA that it is time to end the cuts and some said earlier they plan to cut few or no flights on Saturday, officials told Reuters.
The FAA opted on Wednesday to ease those required cancellations after disruptions due to air traffic control absences declined dramatically as Congress voted to reopen the government after a 43-day shutdown. The FAA had initially planned to hike the cuts to 8% on Thursday and 10% on Friday.
Separately, a group of House Democrats led by Representative Rick Larsen, the ranking member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, asked the administration on Friday to turn over the specific safety data and how it compares to the last six months.
United Airlines said it had canceled 134 flights for Friday, or almost 3% of its flights, after cancelling 222 flights on Thursday.
The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels. Many had been working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the shutdown led to them working without pay.
Air traffic absences led to tens of thousands of flight cancellations and delays since October 1, when the 43-day shutdown began.
(Reporting by David ShepardsonEditing by Nick Zieminski, William Maclean)

Duffy Warns Of Worsening US Flight Delays As Paychecks Run Out

FAA Halves Flight Cuts To 3% After Shutdown Chaos Comes To An End

Congress

U.S. airlines and travelers slogged through a second day of flight cuts across the country on Saturday as the government shutdown was expected to drive more cancellations in the days to come.
The Federal Aviation Administration instructed airlines to cut 4% of flights on Saturday at 40 major airports because of the shutdown. The cuts will rise to 6% on Tuesday and then to 10% by November 14.
The cuts, which began at 6 a.m. ET (1100 GMT) on Friday, include about 700 flights from the four largest carriers &#8211; American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.
Airlines will cut fewer flights on Saturday than Friday because of lower overall volume. United will cut 168 flights, down from 184 Friday, while Southwest will cancel just under 100 flights, down from 120.
During the record 39-day government shutdown, 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 security screeners have been forced to work without pay, leading to increased absenteeism. Many air traffic controllers were notified on Thursday that they would receive no compensation for a second pay period next week.
The Trump administration has ramped up pressure on Congressional Democrats to agree to a Republican plan to fund the federal government, which would allow it to reopen.
Raising the specter of dramatic air-travel disruptions is one such effort. Democrats contend Republicans are to blame for the shutdown because they refuse to negotiate over extending health insurance subsidies.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said it was possible that he could require 20% cuts in air traffic if things get worse and more controllers do not show up for work.
&#8220;I assess the data,&#8221; Duffy said. &#8220;We&#8217;re going to make decisions based on what we see in the airspace.&#8221;
Separate from the cancellations, absences of air traffic controllers on Friday forced the FAA to delay hundreds of flights at 10 airports including Atlanta, San Francisco, Houston, Phoenix, Washington, D.C., and Newark. More than 5,600 flights were delayed Friday.
Earlier this week, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said 20% to 40% of controllers were not showing up for work on any given day.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)

U.S. Hit With Second Day Of Flight Cuts As Shutdown Drags On

The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Wednesday that air traffic would be slashed by 10% beginning on Friday at 40 of the busiest airports in the United States. CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/list-40-airports-faa-flight-cancellations-capacity-cuts-government-shutdown-proposed/">reported</a> Thursday morning that it had obtained the list of the airports facing major flight disruptions due to the FAA&#8217;s decision.
The airports affected stretch from coast to coast and include New York&#8217;s John F. Kennedy International, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Chicago O&#8217;Hare International, and Los Angeles International. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a press conference on Wednesday that the FAA is taking “proactive” steps to “keep the airspace safe” amid the government shutdown, which is now the longest in U.S. history.
The reduction in air traffic comes just weeks before the Thanksgiving holiday, which is typically the busiest travel weekend of the year in the United States. Here&#8217;s the complete list reported by CBS News and compiled in alphabetical order:
<ul>
<li>Anchorage International (ANC)</li>
<li>Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL)</li>
<li>Boston Logan International (BOS)</li>
<li>Baltimore/Washington International (BWI)</li>
<li>Charlotte Douglas International (CLT)</li>
<li>Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG)</li>
<li>Dallas Love (DAL)</li>
<li>Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA)</li>
<li>Denver International (DEN)</li>
<li>Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW)</li>
<li>Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW)</li>
<li>Newark Liberty International (EWR)</li>
<li>Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International (FLL)</li>
<li>Honolulu International (HNL)</li>
<li>Houston Hobby (HOU)</li>
<li>Washington Dulles International (IAD)</li>
<li>George Bush Houston Intercontinental (IAH)</li>
<li>Indianapolis International (IND)</li>
<li>New York John F Kennedy International (JFK)</li>
<li>Las Vegas Harry Reid International (LAS)</li>
<li>Los Angeles International (LAX)</li>
<li>New York LaGuardia (LGA)</li>
<li>Orlando International (MCO)</li>
<li>Chicago Midway (MDW)</li>
<li>Memphis International (MEM)</li>
<li>Miami International (MIA)</li>
<li>Minneapolis/St Paul International (MSP)</li>
<li>Oakland International (OAK)</li>
<li>Ontario International (ONT)</li>
<li>Chicago O&#8217;Hare International (ORD)</li>
<li>Portland International (PDX)</li>
<li>Philadelphia International (PHL)</li>
<li>Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX)</li>
<li>San Diego International (SAN)</li>
<li>Louisville International (SDF)</li>
<li>Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA)</li>
<li>San Francisco International (SFO)</li>
<li>Salt Lake City International (SLC)</li>
<li>Teterboro (TEB)</li>
<li>Tampa International (TPA)</li>
</ul>
Due to the government shutdown, air traffic controllers have gone weeks without pay, leading some to call in sick and seek work elsewhere. In an interview on &#8220;Fox &amp; Friends&#8221; Thursday morning, Duffy said, &#8220;We receive increased pressure in these 40 markets, and we looked at the data — this is data-driven — and so taking 10% of the flights out will reduce that pressure.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
We are assessing the risk in the airspace. Delays and cancellations will be based on which controllers are coming to work.
Reducing 10% of flight volume will reduce the pressure on controllers, while prioritizing safety, and getting more flights out on time. <a href="https://t.co/AbMyfyJCV0">pic.twitter.com/AbMyfyJCV0</a>
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecDuffy/status/1986437253552275509?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Duffy added that he&#8217;s hopeful the decision to cut air traffic will result in more flights departing on time.
&#8220;We had massive delays at Newark early in the summer, and we reduced the capacity at Newark, and all the flights flew on time. There were no more delays,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I can&#8217;t guarantee that&#8217;s the case here, but I&#8217;m hopeful that we&#8217;re going to have more on-time flights, less cancellations.&#8221;
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said on Wednesday that the decision to cut back on air traffic was due to evidence that air traffic controller fatigue has been increasing.
“We do recognize that the controllers have been working fastidiously for the last five weeks with this huge burden over their heads [from] lack of compensation,” Bedford said. “We are starting to see some evidence that fatigue is starting to build in the system in ways we feel we need to work toward relieving some of that pressure.”
Both Bedford and Duffy stressed the importance of taking precautionary measures to ensure air travel remains safe during the air traffic controller shortage.
“Our primary mission at the FAA is to manage airspace in the safest manner possible,” said Bedford. “That is our only focus.”

FAA flight reduction

40 Airports Face Major Flight Disruptions From Democrat Shutdown. Here’s The List.

airport

The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Wednesday that air traffic will be slashed by 10% in 40 &#8220;high-volume&#8221; markets beginning on Friday due to the air traffic controller shortages brought on by the record-breaking government shutdown.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a press conference alongside FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford that the FAA is taking &#8220;proactive&#8221; steps to &#8220;keep the airspace safe&#8221; as the government shutdown moves into its 37th day.
&#8220;In the end, our sole role is to make sure that we keep this airspace as safe as possible,&#8221; Duffy said. &#8220;There is going to be a 10% reduction in capacity at 40 of our locations,&#8221; he added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🚨 BREAKING: <a href="https://twitter.com/SecDuffy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecDuffy</a> announces a 10% reduction in scheduled flight capacity at the nation&#8217;s top 40 high-traffic markets due to the Democrat Shutdown&#8217;s strain on air traffic controllers. <a href="https://t.co/g6yJygA96W">pic.twitter.com/g6yJygA96W</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1986182615372849270?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The air traffic reduction comes just weeks before the Thanksgiving holiday, which is typically the busiest travel weekend of the year in the United States. Bedford said the administration would share more information on the 40 markets affected by the 10% reduction at a later time.
The Transportation Secretary said that the decision is &#8220;data-based&#8221; and focused on areas where air traffic controllers are feeling the most pressure. Duffy did not say where the disruptions should be expected, adding that he and Bedford are set to meet with airline leaders later on Wednesday to discuss the flight reduction.
&#8220;Our primary mission at the FAA is to manage airspace in the safest manner possible,&#8221; said Bedford. &#8220;That is our only focus.&#8221;
Bedford added that flight controllers are experiencing increased fatigue as fewer controllers show up to work. As the government shutdown drags on, air traffic controllers have gone weeks without pay, causing some controllers to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/11/05/nx-s1-5598420/air-traffic-controllers-government-shutdown">call in sick</a> so they can seek work elsewhere.
&#8220;We do recognize that the controllers have been working fastidiously for the last five weeks with this huge burden over their heads [from] lack of compensation,&#8221; Bedford said. &#8220;We are starting to see some evidence that fatigue is starting to build in the system in ways we feel we need to work toward relieving some of that pressure.&#8221;
Republicans continue to push Democrats to agree to a short-term bill that would immediately fund the government, while negotiations could continue on a larger piece of legislation. Democrats have refused to pass the GOP&#8217;s short-term spending plan for five weeks.
Earlier on Wednesday, President Donald Trump urged Republican senators in a White House meeting to terminate the filibuster &#8220;this afternoon,&#8221; so the party could reopen the government and pass some of the administration&#8217;s priorities.
“I think it’s very important. We have to get the country open, and the way we’re going to do it this afternoon is to terminate the filibuster,” he said. “And it’s possible you’re not going to do that, and I’m going to go by your wishes. You’re smart people. We’re good friends, but it would be a tremendous mistake, it would be a tragic mistake, actually. It’s time.”
GOP Senate leaders appear to be unmoved by Trump&#8217;s request to end the filibuster.

FLIGHT DISRUPTIONS IMMINENT: Air Traffic To Be Slashed By 10% This Week Due To Government Shutdown

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Tuesday that “mass chaos” and potential airspace shutdowns will affect air travelers if the government shutdown continues into next week, with shortages of air traffic controllers and TSA agents reaching a critical level.
“If you bring us to a week from today, Democrats, you will see mass chaos, you will see mass flight delays,” Duffy told reporters at a Tuesday news conference held by Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick (R) and Sen. John Fetterman (D), one of only three Democrats who have repeatedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-daily-wire-sits-down-with-john-fetterman-who-doesnt-hear-from-democrats-anymore">voted</a> to end the shutdown.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BREAKING: The Department of Transportation might be forced to shut down airspace in certain parts of the country if the government shutdown continues into next week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Tuesday.
Read more: <a href="https://t.co/8OnWWD1VUl">https://t.co/8OnWWD1VUl</a> <a href="https://t.co/dHrYJVreDQ">pic.twitter.com/dHrYJVreDQ</a>
— ABC News (@ABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1985763806228988307?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
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“You’ll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it because we don’t have the air traffic controllers.”
Nearly 50% of major air traffic control facilities across the country already face critical staffing shortages as the shutdown extends into its 35th day, with approximately 13,000 controllers currently required to work without paychecks during the shutdown.
The Federal Aviation Administration <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/delays-safety-concerns-shortages-air-traffic-controllers/story?id=127055961">reported</a> on Friday that 80% of aviation staff in the New York area had called out, a problem Duffy only expects to worsen as the shutdown continues.
“If this shutdown doesn’t end now, air traffic controllers will receive another $0 paycheck,” Duffy wrote Monday on X. “Many controllers are not coming to work because they have to find a job that WILL pay them so they can survive.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Yesterday saw another horrible record set: 84% of delays were due to staff shortages.
If this shutdown doesn’t end now, air traffic controllers will receive another $0 paycheck.
Many controllers are not coming to work because they have to find a job that WILL pay them so they… <a href="https://t.co/PHK4gwaPzt">pic.twitter.com/PHK4gwaPzt</a>
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecDuffy/status/1985420348687516025?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Delays and disruptions have already <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/10/07/flight-delays-shutdown-air-traffic-control-staffing-issues">impacted</a> airports in the Los Angeles area, Newark, and Denver over the past month, with Duffy stating that staffing shortages were the cause of 84% of the delays over the weekend.
The staffing shortages have led to many controllers working overtime or covering roles that other controllers would otherwise fill, in addition to their own.
“There is a level of risk that gets injected into the system when we have a controller that’s doing two jobs instead of one,” Duffy warned on Saturday amid a ground stop that was in effect at Newark Liberty International Airport due to staffing issues. “We will delay, we will cancel any kind of flight across the national airspace to make sure people are safe.”
The shutdown shows no sign of resolution in the near future, as nearly every Senate Democrat has <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/11/04/us-news/trump-admin-may-be-forced-to-close-parts-of-us-airspace-if-shutdown-lasts-into-next-week-duffy-says/">voted</a> 14 times against a stopgap measure that would fund the government until November 21, using it as leverage to force concessions from Republicans to extend Obamacare subsidies set to expire at the end of this year.
The Obamacare tax credits were expanded under former President Joe Biden during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the New York Post.
In an interview with The Daily Wire on Monday, Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman said he didn’t buy his party’s justification for the shutdown.
“I think shutting our government down simply because we have to ‘fight,’ or because that’s part of this resistance, I don’t agree with it,” the senator said. “And I think we’re gonna hurt the kinds of people who are at the center of our party.”

CrowdedAirport

‘We Just Cannot Manage’: Duffy Warns Shutdown Will Force Airspace Closures

Department of Transportation

John Fetterman

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