Transportation Secretary Duffy warns flight reductions may increase if shutdown continues
LaGuardia, JFK, Newark and Teterboro airports are among the airports impacted.
NEW YORK (WABC) -- As the government shutdown continues, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warns flight cancellations may increase to 10 percent by next week.
LaGuardia, JFK, Newark and Teterboro airports are among the list of 40 major airports announced earlier this week.
Under the emergency order issued by the FAA, airlines reduced operations at the 40 "high-impact airports" by 4% on Friday.
That ramps up to 6% by Tuesday, Nov. 11, 8% by Thursday, Nov. 13, and 10% by Friday, Nov. 14.
Any airline that does not comply will be fined $75,000 per flight over the limit, according to the FAA order.
The decision is expected to cut thousands of flights per day, and it is possible the Department of Transportation may ask airlines to cancel more than 10% of their flights if controllers keep calling out in higher numbers, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Duffy told ABC News.
Check your flight status:
Newark Liberty International Airport
JFK Airport
LaGuardia Airport
Despite nearly 1,000 flights being cancelled on Friday, there are still major delays at airports across the country due to staffing issues in air traffic controller towers and centers.
If the government shutdown continues, more air travel reductions could be on the way, Duffy said in an interview on ABC News Live.
"My hope is that this government shutdown will end soon and we can get back in the business of letting Americans travel," Duffy said in the interview.
More than 16 air traffic control facilities across the country are seeing shortages on Friday. Some of these facilities cover airspace in multiple states.
Pilots have reported that air traffic controllers are slower to respond, not using proper terminology and there have been more incidents of planes getting too close together, Duffy warned.
Duffy does say he doesn't think people should cancel or not book flights for Thanksgiving.
"I want it to be fixed, but also I have to continue to look at data and if this continues, and I have more air traffic controllers who decide they can't come to work and control the airspace, but instead have to take a second job, with that you might see 10% would have been a good number, because we might go to 15% or 20%," Duffy said during an interview earlier at a Breitbart News event in Washington, D.C.
This could likely cost airlines tens of millions of dollars, Duffy said.
The initial plan called for a 10% reduction starting Friday, but officials chose to gradually increase the reductions for safety, Duffy said.
American Airlines said Thursday it will cancel about 220 of its roughly 6,000 departures starting Friday and lasting through this weekend.
United Airlines said in a statement it plans to cancel less than 200 of its more than 5,000 flights each day through the weekend. The airline has listed the flight cancellations on a special website along with other information for travelers.
A company spokesperson told ABC News that about half of customers who had their flights canceled were able to be rebooked within 4 hours of their original departure time.
Delta Airlines said it planned to cancel about 170 daily flights.
American, United and Delta -- the three largest airlines in the U.S. -- all have said they believe they will be able to accommodate most of the impacted passengers on other flights.
The cancellations are the latest -- and perhaps biggest -- disruption to air travel since the government shutdown began more than a month ago.
The FAA decided not to cut any international flights as it would be a violation of international agreements with the countries, according to Duffy.
RELATED | Traveler rights to airline refunds amid government shutdown delays, cancellations
On Thursday, Duffy cited flight reductions imposed at Newark Airport over the summer as he explained how cutting 10% of air traffic at the nation's 40 busiest airports could lighten the load on overworked air traffic controllers.
"We had massive delays at Newark early in the summer, and we reduced the capacity at Newark, and then all the flights flew on time," Duffy said during an interview with Fox News. "There were no more delays. I can't guarantee that's the case here, but I'm hopeful that we're going to have more on-time flights, less cancelations."
As travelers wait to see which flights will be cut or impacted, FlightAware has published a Misery Map to keep an eye on flight delays and cancelations across the country.
Most airlines have stressed that their long-haul and international flights won't be impacted.
Even if the shutdown does end, Duffy says airports will not go back to full capacity right away.
(ABC News contributed to this report.)
----------
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
