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Amid the record-breaking federal government shutdown stretches toward day 38, US airspace is about to get less congested. The same cannot be said for US airports.

Safety Measures Implemented

Donald Trump’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said air travel is being curtailed to uphold air traffic control security during the federal government closure, setting a new duration record and with little indication of a agreement between Republicans and liberal officials to end the federal budget impasse.

Airline regulators pinpointed “busiest routes” where the FAA says air traffic must be reduced by 4% by 6am ET on Friday, a move that would force airlines to call off thousands of journeys and trigger a cascade of scheduling issues and setbacks at major US air terminals.

Government Commentary

The federal transportation leader, Sean Duffy, commented on online platforms Thursday that the move was “unrelated to political motives” but rather “concerned with reviewing the data and mitigating accumulating danger in the system as controllers continue working without pay”.

“Air travel remains secure today, tomorrow, and the day after because of the forward-thinking steps we are taking,” he stated.

Airline Cutbacks

Specialists anticipate numerous potentially thousands of flights could be canceled. The flight decreases may constitute up to 1,800 flights and more than 268,000 seats total, per an calculation by the aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Affected Airports

The involved terminals covering more than two dozen states include the highest-volume locations across the US – such as Georgia's capital, North Carolina's city, DEN, Texas metroplex, Florida destination, Los Angeles, MIA and SFO. Within major metropolitan areas – like New York, Houston and Illinois hub – multiple airports will be involved.

The trio of airports serving the Washington DC area – Dulles Airport, BWI and DCA – will be involved, likely creating delays and cancellations for government officials as well as the flying public.

Related Updates

• Below is the roster of domestic airports reducing air travel on Friday due to federal government shutdown.
• A previous justice department staffer who hurled a sandwich at a government officer during Donald Trump’s law enforcement surge in Washington DC was acquitted of assault by a DC jury on Thursday in the latest legal rejection of the federal involvement.
• Some Democratic legislators saw Tuesday’s significant election victories as indication they should stand firm and extract as much as possible from conservative lawmakers before approving the termination of the record-breaking budget standoff in history.
• Liberal lawmakers commended Nancy Pelosi as a “heroic, trailblazing” member of the US House of Representatives, an “icon” and the “greatest speaker in American history”, following her statement that post twenty congressional sessions in Congress she plans to retire.
• The conservative leader, the leader of the political research group behind Project 2025, has apologized for endorsing Tucker Carlson’s interview with Hitler supporter Nick Fuentes, but is rejecting appeals to leave his position.