On Nov. 6, 2025, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), an agency within the United States Department of Transportation responsible for regulating all aspects of civil aviation, announced a temporary 10 percent reduction in flights at 40 high-traffic airports across the nation, citing the need to maintain safety, relieve strain on airport employees and address a recent uptick in flight delays caused by the government shutdown. The reduction was implemented in phases, beginning with a four percent cut in operations on Nov. 7, increasing to six percent by Nov. 11, eight percent by Nov. 13 and 10 percent on Nov. 14.
Additionally, the FAA intends to limit various other operations at affected facilities, including limiting visual flight rule approaches, limiting commercial space launches and reentries to overnight hours and curbing parachute and photo missions near the impacted control centers.
Among the 40 airports subject to the FAA’s capacity cuts, the most affected include Los Angeles International Airport, New York John F. Kennedy International Airport, Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. These airports are among the nation’s busiest and part of the FAA’s Core 30, a network of high-traffic airports designated by the FAA as essential to the national airspace system and vital in maintaining air travel efficiency.
The FAA has cited several reasons for the reduction, noting that the recent government shutdown has left air controllers working without pay, causing operation strain and staffing shortages at many airports. The staffing shortages sparked an increase in staffing triggers, which occur when a control center falls below the minimum number of controllers needed to safely manage an aircraft. In the event of a staffing trigger, the FAA will enact operational reductions to ensure airspace safety and prevent escalation of risk.
For passengers, the effects of the cuts have been immediate: flight cancellations and delays, fewer available flights, increased ticket prices and frustrated travelers. The disruptions have created strain for travelers and airlines trying to coordinate tight schedules. As the nation waits for full operations to be restored at airports, passengers are encouraged to check if and how their airline is affected by the FAA’s temporary flight reductions, explore flight rebooking and rerouting options, monitor updates from the FAA and travel advisories and ensure their travel schedules remain flexible.
Airlines have also taken steps to minimize disruptions and pledged support to their customers. American Airlines responded to the FAA’s announcement by reassuring customers that most travel plans will proceed as scheduled and that they will proactively notify customers of any flight disruptions. Southwest Airlines said it will evaluate the impact of the FAA traffic cuts on its operations and rebook and notify customers accordingly. Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines promised it would monitor the situation closely and await further instructors from the FAA before making any operation changes.
Ultimately, the FAA’s responsibility is to uphold the standard of safety in air travel, even in the face of logistical challenges. While many passengers may experience inconvenience and disruptions in their travel plans due to the temporary reductions, the FAA asserts the necessity of these measures to maintain safety for all passengers and airline personnel as well as to ensure flights remain as safe as possible until airport operations can return to normal.
