U.S. Airlines Cancel 1,200 Flights Tuesday as Government Shutdown Drags On

Airlines canceled about 1,200 flights on Tuesday — roughly half the number scrapped the previous day — as air traffic control staffing showed significant improvement ahead of an expected end to the record 42-day U.S. government shutdown, possibly as soon as Wednesday.

On Monday, carriers had canceled 2,400 flights and delayed 9,600 more. By Tuesday, delays dropped to 1,700 — the industry’s best performance in days.

Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered airlines to trim 4% of daily flights at 40 major airports starting November 7 due to staffing shortages. That number rose to 6% on Tuesday, with further reductions of 8% planned for Thursday and 10% for Friday, November 14.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Tuesday the FAA would scale back those cuts “as safety allows,” citing a sharp drop in staffing issues — from 81 on Saturday to just four on Tuesday. “When that data changes, we’re going to start taking that down from 6 percent, maybe we’ll go to four, two, and get back to normal air travel,” Duffy said at Chicago O’Hare Airport.

President Donald Trump on Monday warned he would dock the pay of any controller failing to return to work and said he would “welcome the resignations” of those not showing up.

The Senate voted Monday night to approve a bill funding the government through January 30, with the House expected to take it up Wednesday. Duffy cautioned that if the measure fails, “flight disruptions could skyrocket this weekend and some major airlines might not keep flying.”

Since the shutdown began October 1, air traffic controller absences have caused tens of thousands of cancellations and delays, affecting over 1.2 million passengers last weekend alone.

The shutdown — the longest in U.S. history — has forced 13,000 controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration agents to work without pay. The FAA remains about 3,500 controllers short of its target staffing levels, even before accounting for the strain of the shutdown.