Over 2,000 flights cancelled across US as federal govt shutdown enters day 40

The US federal government shutdown entered its 40th day on Sunday, 9 November, throwing the nation’s air travel into chaos with more than 2,000 flight cancellations and over 8,000 delays reported nationwide, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.

The disruption follows the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) flight reduction policy, which came into effect on Friday to ease staffing pressures caused by the prolonged shutdown. Flight cancellations spiked sharply — from 202 on Thursday to 1,025 on Friday, and 1,566 on Saturday — as per Xinhua News Agency.

With the number of air traffic controllers taking leave steadily increasing since the shutdown began on 1 October, many others are being forced to work overtime to maintain operations.

To manage the strain, the US Department of Transportation and the FAA announced a 10 per cent capacity reduction at 40 major airports starting Friday, citing the need to maintain airspace safety.

“It’s only going to get worse,” transportation secretary Sean Duffy told CNN, warning that air travel could slow to “a trickle” in the two weeks before Thanksgiving.

National economic council director Kevin Hassett echoed the concern, telling CBS that if people avoid traveling during Thanksgiving, “we really could be looking at a negative quarter for the fourth quarter”.

The shutdown stems from Congress’s failure to pass the regular federal budget, due on 1 October, marking the start of the fiscal year. Instead, lawmakers have been unable to agree on a temporary funding measure — known as a “continuing resolution” — amid deep political polarisation.

In the Senate, the measure has been stalled by a filibuster, a procedural rule requiring 60 votes to advance legislation. With only 53 seats, Republicans lack the numbers to break the impasse and pass their version of the funding bill, leaving government operations — and the nation’s airports — in limbo.

With IANS inputs