05 November 2025
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1 minute read
Urgent: Thousands of flights will be canceled on Friday if the closure continues
The Trump administration announced that starting Friday, thousands of flights per day will be canceled if the government shutdown continues.
Speaking Wednesday afternoon, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Federal Aviation Administration will ask airlines to reduce their flight schedules as concerns grow about staffing of air traffic controllers.
The move is likely to result in the closure of between 3,500 and 4,000 flights per day across dozens of the country’s busiest airports.
The FAA called the measure “proactive,” citing fatigue among aviation safety workers — who have now gone more than a month without receiving full pay during what, as of Wednesday, is the longest government shutdown in history.
“We’re starting to see some evidence that fatigue is building up in the system in ways that we feel we need to work on to relieve some of that stress,” Duffy said at a news conference.
The Department of Transport said the cuts would amount to 10% of total air traffic across 40 busy cities – and would include reductions in space launches and other air traffic.
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The Federal Aviation Administration planned to meet with airlines late Wednesday to discuss how airlines will implement flight reductions.
This is a developing story. Check back soon for additional updates.
Featured image by Points man
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