ROMULUS (WWJ) -- Airlines began canceling hundreds of U.S. flights on Thursday due to the Federal Aviation Administration’s order to reduce traffic at the country’s busiest airports.
Nearly 500 flights scheduled for Friday were already cut nationwide, and the number of cancellations climbed throughout Thursday afternoon, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions.
FAA says traffic at 40 of the nation's busiest airports — including Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus — will be reduced by 10%, effective Friday in response to the government shutdown which has caused high absenteeism among payless air traffic controllers.
[See the complete list HERE]
This has some travelers worried, including Dave Baumgarden from St. Clair.
"I'm going to San Juan, through Atlanta, and it just concerns me a lot," he told WWJ's Charlie Langton. "I don't want to get in San Juan and be stuck."
[Metro Airport travelers can check their flight status at this link.]
The FAA on Thursday announced the complete list of 40 “high-volume markets” where it is reducing flights by 10% before the cuts go into effect Friday, according to FAA administrator Bryan Bedford. The move is intended to keep the air space safe during the shutdown, the agency said.
The Associates Press reports experts predict hundreds if not thousands of flights could be canceled. The cuts could represent as many as 1,800 flights and upwards of 268,000 seats combined, according to an estimate by aviation analytics firm Cirium.
CBS New Correspondent Natalie Brand said the cuts are not expected to happen all at once, but will "be phased in" — starting Friday and then continuing through the weekend.
Major airlines, aviation unions and the broader travel industry have been urging Congress to end the shutdown, which is not officially the longest on record.
Air traffic controllers have been working without pay since the shutdown began 37 days ago.
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