Shutdown Update: Thousands of Flights to be Slashed, Slowing Air Travel

It’s day 37 of the federal government shutdown. This 6th week of the shutdown brings terrible news for travelers: a 10% cut in flight capacity leading to delays and cancellations. This effort is meant to slow travel to a manageable level for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), given the disruptions in staffing levels due to the federal shutdown.

For current travelers, this is bad news. With Thanksgiving just three weeks away, millions of travelers may not get home for the holidays.

Democrats in Congress continue to withhold their support for a clean continuing resolution to fund the government at the same spending level that they voted for 13 times prior, including in March of this year. Disrupted air travel joins the growing list of hardships the Left has imposed on Americans in a bid to get their way.

What’s Happening

Yesterday, Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced that the FAA will proactively cut flight traffic by 10% in 40 “high traffic” markets across the United States. This will impact roughly 4,000 flights. The effort is meant to ease pressure on air traffic controllers who are forced to work without a paycheck due to the federal government shutdown.

Flight eliminations will begin as early as tomorrow (Friday, November 7, 2025).

FAA administrator Bryan Bedford explained,

Our sole role is to make sure that we keep this airspace as safe as possible. Reduction in capacity at 40 of our locations.

Secretary Duffy added more context behind this proactive action, explaining that unpaid air traffic controllers were under financial pressure and that was impacting their ability to do their jobs safely: 

They’re the head of household. They have their spouse at home, they have a child or 2 or 3. And when they lose income, they are confronted with real-world, difficulties in how they pay their bills.

 

I do not want them to take side jobs. I want them to show up for work. We have asked them to show up for work. But I’m not naive to, understand that they’re trying that. We have seen staffing pressures throughout our airspace.

Secretary Duffy warned,

There’ll be frustration. But in the end, our sole role is to make sure that we keep this airspace as safe as possible.

What’s Next?

Air travel has already been experiencing severe delays in some airports, and this proactive move will ramp up delays across the system, but also serve as a pressure valve. If flights are cancelled, visitors will be forced to make alternative plans, such as driving or taking buses and trains to get to their destinations. For cross-country trips, that may not be an option. 

While this move is aggressive, it may be the direct pressure needed on Democratic members of Congress who have voted against reopening the government 14 times. Many of these members depend on air travel to get back to their homes and districts. They will undoubtedly hear from their constituents that their canceled travel plans are the direct result of their “no” votes on a clean spending bill.

Bottom Line

The lapse in funding for the SNAP food stamp programs and the WIC feeding program for poor pregnant women and children has not been enough to move the Left. 

Active-duty military members serving overseas and domestically without a paycheck haven’t moved the Left. 

Long lines at food pantries filled with furloughed and laid-off federal workers have not moved the Left. 

Travel delays and canceled flights might be the inconveniences that finally persuade the Left to abandon their stubbornness and agree to reopen the federal government.