As lawmakers debate whether to put an end to the shutdown, thousands of travelers are seeing the effects at airports across the United States and the New York City area.
So far on Wednesday, LaGuardia has reported 4% of flights canceled, Newark Airport also reported 4%, and John F. Kennedy Airport reported 2%.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said commercial aviation has been generally continued to move over the last two days, with only four staffing triggers Tuesday --- down from 81 on Saturday. With the exception of a few airports, including LaGuardia, where 11% of flights were canceled, cancellations at most major airports are generally holding at FAA flight reduction levels.
On Wednesday night, the FAA issued an emergency order freezing the flight reductions at its current level of 6%. This means the reductions will not increase Thursday and on Friday. The DOT says the decision was taken after seeing a "rapid decline in controller callouts."
"Such strong staffing levels suggest a further ramp up in-flight reductions are not necessary to keep the traveling public safe. As the federal government reopens and controllers receive their backpay, the FAA will continue to monitor staffing levels and review key trend lines." The DOT said in its press release.
The reductions were originally set to increase to 10% on Friday.
Next weekend is projected bring severe disruptions if there is no resolution to the shutdown. Duffy said airlines may stop flying altogether by the weekend.
"I think we would see that significant disruption coming this next weekend, maybe as early as Friday," Duffy said. "And I think you're going to have airlines that make a serious calculation about whether they continue to fly full stop."
"We might find airlines that have to make decisions, do they keep flying? If this doesn't open, you might have airlines that say, 'We're going to ground our planes. We're not going to fly anymore.' That's how serious this is."
Duffy said once the government reopens, air traffic controllers will begin receiving payment within 24 to 48 hours and "they'll be made whole within a week."
Federal workers have been going without pay, nearly 42 million Americans who depend on SNAP benefits have been left in limbo, and airline passengers are facing delays and cancellations.
Conversely, Duffy said the Department of Transportation will look into the controllers who consistently did not show up to work during the shutdown.
Even after the shutdown ends, officials say it may take several days for flight operations to return to normal.
Duffy said data collected over time will determine the timeline.
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