The Federal Aviation Administration will begin reducing the number of flights in “high-traffic” parts of the country as the government shutdown continues and local airports have reported staffing shortages, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday.
“There will be a 10 percent reduction in capacity at 40 of our locations,” Duffy said. “It’s about where the pressure is and how to relieve it.”
He said the capacity reduction would begin on Friday.
The news comes as the shutdown has entered its second month and after a weekend during which dozens of U.S. airports reported hundreds of delays.
On Sunday alone, more than 5,000 flights traveling to and from U.S. airports were delayed, and the Transportation Security Administration said it screened nearly 2.7 million people nationwide.
The shutdown has meant that essential workers, including air traffic controllers, have been working without pay. That has led to a shortage of between 2,000 and 3,000 drivers, Duffy previously said.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the agency is not waiting for the situation to get worse. “We can’t ignore it,” he said.
