Duffy warns U.S. air travel will worsen before holidays as FAA cuts expand amid shutdown

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has warned that air travel disruptions will deepen in the coming days as the country faces a third consecutive day of federally mandated flight reductions amid the ongoing government shutdown.

Duffy spoke in an interview with CNN’s State of the Union

• “It’s only going to get worse,”
• flight capacity could shrink to a “trickle” in the two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving
• a “substantial number” of Americans could miss holiday travel plans as a result
• on Saturday alone, there were 81 “staffing triggers”, incidents where flight operations were curtailed due to staffing shortages

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The background to this chaos is the government shutdown. As essential workers, controllers are required to work during a shutdown but without pay. This has led to widespread absenteeism, many controllers are seeking gig economy work to put food on the table, and operational strain.

• The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) introduced the cuts on Friday, affecting 40 major airports nationwide, in response to worsening air traffic controller shortages.
• By Sunday morning, more than 4,200 flights had been delayed and 1,520 cancelled, with Duffy warning tha
• The FAA expects the flight reductions to escalate over the week: capacity will drop 4% this weekend, 6% by Tuesday, 8% by Thursday, and up to 10% by Friday.

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Flight disruptions threaten to dent consumer spending and tourism activity heading into the U.S. holiday season. Extended shutdown-related travel chaos could ripple through airlines, hospitality, and retail sectors, adding short-term pressure to service-driven GDP growth.

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If you are in the US and planning a Thanksgiving flight, have back up plans in place would be my advice.