Over 700 flights cancelled in US as government shutdown drags on

A deepening government shutdown cast fresh turbulence across America’s skies on Friday, 7 November, as airlines scrambled to cancel hundreds of flights and travellers braced for chaos in the run-up to the holiday season.

By midday, the country’s vast web of air travel — nearly 25,000 scheduled flights — had begun to fray. Some 780 flights, or about 3 per cent, had already been grounded, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. The cancellations, officials warned, were only the first ripples of a larger storm that could soon cripple the nation’s airspace.

Transportation secretary Sean Duffy sounded a stark warning: if the impasse drags on, flight reductions could soar to as high as 20 per cent by Thanksgiving — the busiest travel period of the year.

“If this continues, and I have more controllers who decide they can’t come to work and control the airspace, but instead have to take a second job… we might go to 15 or even 20 per cent cuts,” Duffy told Fox News. “This is a moment-by-moment assessment. We’re doing all we can to keep travellers safe as they move through the skies.”

At the heart of the crisis are America’s air traffic controllers — essential workers bound by duty to keep planes aloft, even as the shutdown leaves their paychecks suspended. Many have begun seeking other work, threatening to thin the ranks of those who guide the country’s crowded air corridors.

In a bid to contain the fallout, the Department of Transportation has drawn up a tiered reduction plan: a 6 per cent cut in flights from Tuesday, rising to 8 per cent on Thursday and 10 per cent by next Friday. Yet, airlines are already feeling the strain.

American Airlines announced plans to cancel roughly 220 flights daily through the weekend, while Delta and United trimmed 173 and 184 flights respectively.

At Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport, the disruption was visible and raw — long lines snaking through terminals, restless passengers clutching coffee cups and boarding passes, and an air thick with fatigue. Average wait times stretched to four hours, according to a Federal Aviation Administration advisory.

Airport officials pleaded for patience and vigilance, urging travellers to check flight statuses frequently and prepare for delays that could worsen in the days ahead.

As the holiday season approaches, America’s airways — once symbols of speed and freedom — now mirror the paralysis on the ground: a nation waiting, wings clipped, for its gridlock to end.

With IANS inputs