According to FlightAware data, U.S. airlines had canceled more than 1,000 flights by early evening on Friday, the first day of FAA-mandated air traffic cuts.
The figure amounts to 3.2% of the 25,375 flights that had been scheduled to depart Friday from the U.S, according to Cirium data. U.S. travelers have seen worse this year: On three occasions in 2025, more than 2,000 U.S. departures were canceled.
The FAA has implemented air traffic cuts in the skies above 39 large and midsize commercial airports as well as the private Teterboro Airport in the New York/New Jersey metroplex, as a safety measure to ameliorate air traffic controller fatigue during the federal government shutdown. Controllers are working without paychecks while the shutdown, today in its 38th day, continues. The shutdown has led to an increase in controller call-outs.
On Nov. 6, the FAA published specifics of the cutback. A 4% reduction in operations has taken effect for Friday. That figure will ramp up to 6% by Nov. 11, 8% by Nov. 13 and 10% by Nov. 14. Decisions to increase or decrease the reductions will be informed by safety data, the FAA said.
Some visual flight approaches, most commonly used in private aviation, will be prohibited into airports when there are controller staffing shortages.
The biggest airlines mostly plan to center their flight cuts on regional routes, which operate with smaller planes, or on routes with multiple frequencies that don't travel hub to hub.
Some focuses of Friday's cuts include shuttle flights in the Northeast and intra-Florida flights, Cirium said, as well as routes from airline hubs to small markets.
American canceled the most flights Friday, with 221. But the airline noted in a statement that it will still operate around 6,000 flights.
United said that for the 184 flights it canceled overnight, approximately half of customers were able to be rebooked within four hours of their original departure time. United has launched a new website, United.com/govshutdown, listing all the flights it cancels due to the FAA order.
Airlines are proactively alerting flyers of the cancellations but are also urging customers to monitor flight statuses on carrier websites and apps.