The travel industry has already lost $4 billion from the government shutdown. The FAA's flight cuts starting Friday are a new threat | Fortune

"The air travel nightmare is only getting worse. The Federal Aviation Administration announced it will start cutting the number of flights in "high traffic" parts of the U.S. as the government shutdown continues and airports suffer from extreme staffing shortages. There will be a 10% reduction in capacity at 40 airports, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday. That amounts to thousands of flights each day, primarily domestic and regional."

""This is about where's the pressure and how do we alleviate the pressure," he said. The pressure stems from a shortage of TSA agents and air traffic controllers during the government shutdown, which began Oct. 1. The shutdown followed Congress's failure to pass legislation to fund the government for 2026. Democrats have blocked Republican funding bills because they don't include provisions like extending Affordable Care Act subsidies. But Republicans say they're only willing to discuss those when the government reopens, leading to gridlock."

FAA will reduce capacity by 10% at 40 high-traffic U.S. airports, cutting thousands of flights daily, mainly domestic and regional. The reductions respond to severe staffing shortages of TSA agents and air traffic controllers during the government shutdown that began Oct. 1. Nearly 13,000 air traffic controllers and 60,000 TSA agents have been working without pay, and some have not shown up for work. Half of Core 30 facilities face staffing shortages and nearly 80% of air traffic controllers are absent at New York-area facilities. TSA lines have reached up to four-and-a-half hours at some airports. The shutdown followed failure to pass 2026 funding amid partisan gridlock over ACA subsidy provisions.

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