Cuts in air routes brings the “shutdown» in the US, due to a shortage of air traffic control personnel.
The US government has announced that from tomorrow Friday (07.11.2025) it will ask airlines to limit air routes.
The measure, according to Washington, it is intended to reduce the pressure on the air traffic control system, which is facing severe staff shortages.
This situation is attributed to the ongoing fiscal paralysis that has affected the operation of federal services, directly affecting the smooth conduct of flights.
“We will reduce the possibilities” in terms of the execution of flights “by 10% in 40” airports, among the busiest in the country, explained during a press conference Sean Duffythe transportation secretary of Donald Trump’s administration.
«We are 2,000 air traffic controllers short“, he clarified and added that the pressure must be “reduced”, the number of supervised flights should be reduced.
My number one priority is the safety of the American people. https://t.co/lOi3Q2rpZ7
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 5, 2025
The US yesterday (05.11.2025) entered its 36th day of fiscal paralysis – the longest shutdown in its history.
Thousands of civil servants unemployed
From October 1st, hundreds of thousands of federal public servants have been technically unemployed, while hundreds of thousands more are forced to continue working without pay. Their salaries will only be paid retroactively, once the crisis is over.
More than 60,000 air traffic controllers and transportation security service workers are in the second category. And instead of working without pay, some simply don’t go to work.
The decision announced Wednesday comes ahead of what will be a long weekend for many Americans, as Tuesday, November 11th is a holiday in the US.
“Our auditors have not been paid for a month”
“We have asked the airlines to work with us to reduce their flight plans,” said the head of the US Civil Aviation Service (FAA), Brian Bedford.
“We can take action today to prevent the situation from getting worse,” he continued.
“The system is extremely secure today and will be tomorrow. If the pressure continues to increase, even after taking these measures, we will come back, we will take further measures,” he added.
Mr Bedford pointed out that he could not recall such a traffic reduction being requested in his “35-year career”.
«This is a very unusual situation. Our auditors have been unpaid for a month. We look forward to being able to work normally again».
“Inspectors who continue to come (to work) are working overtime, working longer days (…) and we want to reduce that pressure (on them) before it becomes a problem,” the FAA chief said.
On average, the FAA oversees 44,000 flights a dayaccording to her website. A 10% reduction therefore means that more than 4,000 flights per day will be cancelled.