CHICAGO – The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday it was taking the extraordinary step of reducing air traffic by 10% across 40 “high-volume” markets beginning Friday morning to maintain travel safety as air traffic controllers exhibit signs of strain during the ongoing government shutdown.
The cutback stands to impact thousands of flights nationwide because the FAA directs more than 44,000 flights daily, including commercial passenger flights, cargo planes, and private aircraft.
While the airports and cities affected haven’t yet been announced, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has announced the company’s plans once the restrictions go into effect.
In a message to employees, Kirby said the airlines’ long-haul international flying as well as hub-to-hub flying will not be impacted by the schedule reduction direction from the FAA.
Instead, the airline will focus its schedule reductions on regional flying and domestic mainline flights that do not travel between hubs.
“We’ll use our app, website, and push notifications to communicate with customers directly if their flight changes, and to offer rebooking options. We want to provide them with as much information as we can and in a way that’s simple and easy to understand,” Kirby said.
He also noted that any customer traveling during this period is eligible for a refund if they do not wish to fly, even if their flight isn’t impacted. This includes non-refundable tickets and customers with basic economy tickets.
“Even with these schedule reductions, United and its United Express partners will still offer about 4,000 flights per day to fly our customers to their destinations. And because of the early November timing, our flights have more seats available than before the summer, meaning we should be able to find seats for many customers even if their flight is canceled,” Kirby said.
Click here for Kirby’s full message to United employees.
United announced it is canceling roughly 20 flights per day in response to the FAA’s cancellation guidelines.
Here’s the full United statement:
“United is adjusting its schedule through Sunday in response to FAA-directed airspace restrictions.
Cancelling 4% each day per guidance from the FAA. This represents about 20 roundtrip flights a day in Houston, which will primarily be United Express flights.
United’s hub-to-hub and international flights will not be impacted by this schedule reduction, as that’ll help us maintain our operation and give impacted customers as many options as possible to resume their trip.
United customers who have an impacted flight are receiving notifications and booking options in real-time, before they get to the airport, through United’s app. We encourage all customers to download the United app for the most seamless travel experience, including real-time notifications, rebooking options, and support directly from their mobile device.
Customers can also go to United.com to view our travel waiver or check flight status.
Because this situation is occurring outside of a peak travel period, we anticipate additional seat availability, which helps us re-accommodate customers more quickly.
Any customer who chooses not to travel at this time can request a refund, even if their flight isn’t directly impacted.
In Houston, our focus remains on supporting our customers and employees, and we’ll continue to make any necessary adjustments as the situation evolves and continue working closely with the Houston Airport System and the FAA to manage operations safely and efficiently.
We’re grateful to the air traffic controllers and TSA teams for their continued dedication to keeping our skies safe, and we remain hopeful for a swift resolution."
Delta also released a statement:
“Delta is complying with a directive from the FAA and the U.S. Department of Transportation to reduce flights at 40 major U.S. airports beginning Friday, Nov 7.
Delta expects to operate the vast majority of our flights as scheduled, including all long-haul international service, and will work to minimize customer impact while keeping safety our top priority.
We are providing additional flexibility to our customers traveling to, from or through the impacted markets during the impacted travel period to change, cancel or refund their flights, including Delta Main Basic fares, without penalty during this travel period. See travel waiver details here.
We will work to give customers as much notice as possible about any changes to their flights and apologize for any inconvenience these changes may cause. We encourage customers to check their flight status on delta.com or the Fly Delta app for the latest information.These flight reductions are in response to air traffic control staffing shortages stemming from the ongoing government shutdown and are intended to maintain safety across the national airspace system."
Southwest also released a statement:
“On Wednesday, the FAA directed air carriers to reduce flight schedules in 40 domestic markets beginning November 7 due to staffing shortages in air traffic control (ATC) caused by the ongoing government shutdown. We do not expect international flights to be affected.
The vast majority of our Customers will not be impacted by these changes, and for those who are affected, we will proactively communicate well in advance and will offer flexibility in travel plans.
Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees. We continue to urge Congress to immediately resolve its impasse and restore the National Airspace System to its full capacity."
American Airlines also released a statement:
“Due to the ongoing government shutdown and nationwide air traffic control staffing shortages, the FAA has directed airlines to reduce flight schedules to continue to maintain safe airspace operations beginning Friday, Nov. 7. Flights on Thursday, Nov. 6, will operate as planned.
We expect the vast majority of our customers’ travel will be unaffected, and long-haul international travel will remain as scheduled. As schedule changes are made, we’ll proactively reach out to customers who are impacted. As always, we encourage all customers to check their flight status on aa.com or the mobile app, which will provide real-time updates.
Disrupting customers’ plans is the last thing we want to do. To provide additional flexibility during the impacted travel period, customers whose flights are cancelled for any reason or who choose not to travel will be able to change their flight or request a refund without any penalty.
In the meantime, we continue to urge leaders in Washington, D.C., to reach an immediate resolution to end the shutdown. We remain grateful to the air traffic controllers, TSA officers, CBP officers and other federal employees who are working right now without pay — all to get our customers where they need to be safely — as well as our American Airlines team members who always work to take the best care of our customers."
JetBlue also released a statement:
“As you may have read in the news, the FAA has directed all airlines to reduce flight schedules beginning Friday, November 7, 2025.
If your flight is affected, we’ll reach out using the contact information in your reservation.
• In most cases, we’ll automatically rebook you on the next available JetBlue flight.
• If your flight is canceled and you decide not to travel, you can request a full refund.
JetBlue is actively monitoring the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) planned flight reductions and evaluating potential impacts to our schedule. We are committed to keeping our customers informed and will communicate any changes as soon as possible."
Frontier also released a statement:
“During the FAA directed flight reductions scheduled to begin Friday, Nov. 7, we expect most Frontier flights will operate as planned. Where changes to flight schedules are necessary, we will proactively communicate with impacted customers via email, text, and the Frontier mobile app. Customers whose flights are canceled or delayed for more than 3 hours (domestic flights) or 6 hours (international flights) are able to rebook or to request a refund online.
We have also issued a flexible travel policy for any customer traveling during this period who would like to change or cancel their travel plans. Changes or cancellations can be made on the Frontier website or app. We will continue to post the latest updates for customers on our Travel Alerts page.
Before heading to the airport, we encourage customers to check the Frontier mobile app or our Flight Status page for the latest flight status updates. Our team is working around the clock to minimize disruption to customers’ travel plans and to our operation.
We extend our appreciation to all of the federal employees, including air traffic controllers, TSA officers and others who are working without pay while continuing to get airline passengers safely to their destinations.
We wish to thank our customers and team members as we work to minimize the impacts."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.