🔗 Share this article Government Reduces US Air Travel as Government Closure Continues With the record-breaking federal government standoff nears day 38, US airspace are set to become a little less busy. Contrastingly for US airports. Safety Measures Implemented The current administration's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated flight numbers are being lowered to uphold air traffic control safety during the federal government closure, currently the lengthiest in history and with little indication of a resolution between Republicans and liberal officials to end the federal budget standoff. Flight oversight bodies identified “congested corridors” where the FAA says air traffic must be reduced by 4% by early morning Eastern Time on Friday, a step requiring airlines to call off thousands of journeys and trigger a cascade of scheduling complications and delays at key American travel hubs. Administration Remarks Trump’s transportation chief, Sean Duffy, wrote on social media Thursday that the move was “not about politics” but rather “concerned with reviewing the data and reducing growing safety concerns in the system as flight directors continue working without pay”. “It’s safe to fly today, tomorrow, and the day after because of the preventive measures we are taking,” the official remarked. Flight Cancellations Analysts forecast hundreds if not thousands of flights may be scrapped. These reductions could represent up to 1,800 flights and upwards of 268,000 seats combined, per an estimate by the aviation analytics firm Cirium. Impacted Locations The involved terminals including more than two dozen states include the highest-volume locations across the US – including Atlanta, Charlotte, Denver, Texas metroplex, MCO, Los Angeles, Miami and Bay Area airport. Within major metropolitan areas – like New York, Houston and Chicago – several air terminals will be impacted. Each of the three air terminals operating in the Washington DC area – Washington Dulles international, BWI and Reagan National – will be involved, certainly generating delays and cancellations for lawmakers as well as the flying public. Related Updates This is the list of US airports cutting flights on Friday as a result of federal government funding lapse. A previous justice department staffer who hurled a sandwich at a federal officer during the administration's law enforcement surge in Washington DC received a not guilty verdict of assault by a DC jury on Thursday representing a recent legal setback of the federal action. Certain Democratic lawmakers viewed Tuesday’s major voting successes as proof they should stand firm and extract as much as possible from conservative lawmakers before consenting to conclude the record-breaking budget standoff in history. Liberal lawmakers commended Nancy Pelosi as a “heroic, trailblazing” member of the US House of Representatives, an “symbol” and the “most accomplished leader in American history”, after her announcement that following two decades in Congress she will leave office. Kevin Roberts, the chief of the conservative thinktank behind Project 2025, expressed regret for supporting Tucker Carlson’s interview with Hitler admirer Nick Fuentes, but is declining demands to step down.