1,400 flights canceled in the United States in one day due to the shutdown

More than 1,400 flights were canceled for the second day in a row on Saturday (November 8) due to a long government shutdown in the United States. Thousands more flights were delayed. Authorities said the situation could worsen in the coming days. The British media outlet BBC reported this information in a report today, Sunday (November 9).
The media outlet reported that more than 1,400 domestic and international flights were canceled yesterday as the government shutdown in the United States entered its second day. Flight tracking site FlightAware reported that about 6,000 more flights were delayed on Saturday, although the number of delays on Friday was more than 7,000.
Earlier this week, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that flight operations at the country’s 40 busiest airports would be reduced by up to 10 percent due to fatigue of air traffic controllers working without pay during the shutdown. The standoff, which began on October 1, is still ongoing. The battle between Republicans and Democrats over funding in Congress has not stopped yet. Yesterday was the 39th day of the longest shutdown in US history.
Meanwhile, senators are busy negotiating over the weekend to find a compromise to end the impasse and reopen the government. In the meantime, the impact of food aid and air travel is now being felt in the lives of ordinary Americans. In a statement on Saturday, American Airlines called on leaders in Washington to “immediately reach a solution to end the impasse.”
The BBC says that during the impasse, the longest wait times were seen at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. As of Saturday noon local time, flights were arriving there on average more than four hours late, and departing flights were also delayed by about an hour and a half. In addition, the most flights were canceled on Saturday at Charlotte/Douglas International, Newark Liberty International and Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
The FAA said flights departing John F. Kennedy International, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International and La Guardia airports were delayed by about three hours, two and a half hours and one hour respectively as of Saturday afternoon. However, not only commercial flights but also private jet service has been restricted, Transportation Secretary Duffy said. “The number of private jets at busy airports has been reduced. They have been asked to use smaller airports to make it easier to control commercial flights,” he wrote in the X on Saturday.
The FAA said the situation could worsen in the coming days. The agency is gradually reducing flights. As part of this, it plans to cancel 4 percent of flights on Friday, 6 percent on November 11, 8 percent on November 13 and 10 percent by November 14.
The FAA said the cuts are necessary to maintain safety. Because working without pay is increasing fatigue and absenteeism among air traffic controllers. Many are taking sick leave or working overtime to meet daily demands.
Additionally, most of the Transportation Security Agency’s (TSA) 64,000 employees are not receiving pay, which is also affecting airport security. In early 2018, during the Trump administration’s shutdown, about 10 percent of TSA employees were home without pay.