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Amid the unprecedented federal government closure nears day 38, US skies will become less congested. The same cannot be said for US airports.

Safety Measures Put in Place

Donald Trump’s aviation regulatory body stated air travel is being curtailed to maintain air traffic control security during the federal government funding lapse, now the longest recorded and with little indication of a solution between GOP lawmakers and liberal officials to end the federal budget deadlock.

Aviation authorities selected “high-volume markets” where the FAA says air traffic must be reduced by 4% by early morning Eastern Time on Friday, a move that would force airlines to call off thousands of journeys and trigger a cascade of scheduling problems and setbacks at major US air terminals.

Government Commentary

The federal transportation leader, Sean Duffy, commented on social media Thursday that the action was “unrelated to political motives” but rather “involving evaluation the data and reducing building risk in the system as flight directors continue working without pay”.

“It’s safe to fly today, tomorrow, and the day after because of the forward-thinking steps we are taking,” he stated.

Airline Cutbacks

Specialists anticipate numerous potentially thousands of flights could be canceled. These reductions may constitute as many as 1,800 flights and over 268,000 seats combined, per an estimate by the aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Targeted Terminals

The targeted air hubs covering over 25 states include the highest-volume locations across the US – such as ATL, Charlotte, Denver, Texas metroplex, MCO, LAX, MIA and Bay Area airport. Within major metropolitan areas – including NYC, Texas city and Illinois hub – various airports will be impacted.

Each of the three air terminals operating in the nation's capital region – IAD, BWI and DCA – will be involved, certainly generating flight disruptions for lawmakers as well as additional passengers.

Related Updates

• Here’s the compilation of American air terminals reducing air travel on Friday because of federal government funding lapse.
• A previous justice department staffer who hurled a sandwich at a government officer during the administration's law enforcement increase in the capital was acquitted of assault by a DC jury on Thursday representing a recent legal setback of the federal action.
• Several liberal representatives viewed Tuesday’s significant election victories as evidence they should maintain their position and extract as much as possible from GOP members before approving the termination of the longest government shutdown in history.
• Liberal lawmakers commended Nancy Pelosi as a “heroic, trailblazing” member of the US House of Representatives, an “legend” and the “most accomplished leader in American history”, after her statement that after 20 terms in Congress she intends to step down.
• The conservative leader, the director of the right-leaning policy organization behind Project 2025, has apologized for backing Tucker Carlson’s interview with Hitler admirer Nick Fuentes, but is resisting calls to leave his position.