WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Bryan Bedford today outlined the proactive actions the FAA will take to maintain the highest standards of safety in the national airspace system. This includes achieving a temporary 10 percent reduction in flights at 40 high traffic airports across the country.  

Since the beginning of the shutdown, controllers have been working without pay, and staffing triggers at air traffic facilities across the country have been increasing. This has resulted in increased reports of strain on the system from both pilots and air traffic controllers. This past weekend, there were 2,740 delays at various airports.   

“My department has many responsibilities, but our number one job is safety. This isn’t about politics – it’s about assessing the data and alleviating building risk in the system as controllers continue to work without pay,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “It’s safe to fly today, and it will continue to be safe to fly next week because of the proactive actions we are taking.” 

“We are seeing signs of stress in the system, so we are proactively reducing the number of flights to make sure the American people continue to fly safely,” said Federal Aviation Administrator Bryan Bedford. “The FAA will continue to closely monitor operations, and we will not hesitate to take further action to make sure air travel remains safe.”   

Read the full emergency order here. 

Summary of Actions:

A 4 percent reduction in operations will take effect Friday, November 7, ramping up to 6 percent by November 11, 8 percent by November 13, and 10 percent by November 14. 

The FAA will also: 

• Prohibit some visual flight rule approaches (VFR) at facilities with staffing triggers.
• Limit commercial space launches to non-peak hours so they are prohibited between 11:01 a.m. and 2:59 p.m. UTC.
• Prohibit parachute operations and photo missions near facilities with a staffing trigger.  

These actions were directly informed by the FAA’s review of aviation safety data, including voluntary, confidential safety reports that pilots and air traffic controllers file. The data indicates increased stress on the system, which increases risk.   

Additional Information:

Airlines will be required to issue full refunds. They will not be required to cover secondary costs. This is the normal procedure when a delay or cancellation is not at the fault of the carrier. 

The order does not require a reduction in international flights. Carriers may use their own discretion to decide which flights are canceled to reach the order’s goal. 

Decisions to increase or decrease these flight reductions will be informed by safety data.  

The 40 affected high impact airports include:  

ANC – Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport 
ATL – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
BOS – Boston Logan International Airport 
BWI – Baltimore/Washington International Airport 
CLT – Charlotte Douglas International Airport 
CVG – Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport 
DAL – Dallas Love Field 
DCA – Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport 
DEN – Denver International Airport 
DFW – Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport 
DTW – Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport 
EWR – Newark Liberty International Airport 
FLL – Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport 
HNL – Honolulu International Airport 
HOU – William P. Hobby Airport 
IAD – Washington Dulles International Airport 
IAH – George Bush Houston Intercontinental Airport 
IND – Indianapolis International Airport 
JFK – New York John F. Kennedy International Airport 
LAS – Las Vegas McCarran International Airport 
LAX – Los Angeles International Airport 
LGA – New York LaGuardia Airport 
MCO – Orlando International Airport 
MDW – Chicago Midway International Airport 
MEM – Memphis International Airport 
MIA – Miami International Airport 
MSP – Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport 
OAK – Oakland International Airport 
ONT – Ontario International Airport 
ORD – Chicago O’Hare International Airport 
PDX – Portland International Airport 
PHL – Philadelphia International Airport 
PHX – Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport 
SAN – San Diego International Airport 
SDF – Louisville International Airport 
SEA – Seattle–Tacoma International Airport 
SFO – San Francisco International Airport 
SLC – Salt Lake City International Airport 
TEB – Teterboro Airport 
TPA – Tampa International Airport