With Republicans and Democrats in a bitter standoff, federal agencies have been grinding to a halt since funding lapsed on Oct 1.
More than 1,200 flights were cancelled across the United States on Friday (Nov 7) after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers working without pay amid a federal government shutdown.
Forty airports were slated for the cuts, including major hubs in Atlanta, Newark, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles.
With Republicans and Democrats in a bitter standoff, particularly over health insurance subsidies, federal agencies have been grinding to a halt since funding lapsed on Oct 1.
Many government employees, including vital airport staff, are either working without pay or furloughed at home, waiting for the now nearly six-week crisis to end.
The flight reductions are taking effect gradually, starting at 4 per cent and rising to 10 per cent next week if Congress still hasn’t reached a funding deal.
More than 1,200 flights scheduled for Friday were cancelled, according to tracking website FlightAware.
Aviation analytics company Cirium said 3 per cent of US flights had been cancelled so far, with 94 per cent departing on time.
The most affected airports were Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare, Denver and Phoenix, according to data analysed by AFP.
“This is frustrating. We don’t need to be in this position,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom told CNBC.
The upheaval means ordinary Americans are now directly feeling the impacts of the Washington budget fight that has shut down much of the government.
The Senate was expected to try for the 15th time on Friday to approve a short-term, House-passed funding measure that would reopen the government – but the vote was expected to fail like the previous 14.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed Democrats, saying they should vote to reopen the government.
“If Democrats are going to go home this weekend, and they’ve kept the government shut down, that’s shameful,” Duffy told reporters at Reagan National Airport.
However, Republicans control Congress, and Democrats have said they will refuse to sign off on the majority party’s budget plans, including severe healthcare cuts.
Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/flights-cancelled-us-airports-government-shutdown-5454641
