NEW ORLEANS – The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered airlines to cut 10% of their flights at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports beginning Nov. 7. The move is aimed at easing pressure on air traffic controllers during the ongoing government shutdown and maintaining safety amid staffing shortages.
The Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) is not among the airports affected. The reductions span more than two dozen states and include major hubs such as Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles and Charlotte, North Carolina. In some metro areas, including New York, Houston, Chicago and Washington, multiple airports will see flight reductions.
Airlines Adjust Schedules, Cancel Flights
Airlines are working quickly to adjust schedules and cancel flights as travelers with weekend and holiday plans wait to learn whether their departures will proceed as planned.
According to AP News, more than 810 flights have been canceled nationwide, citing data from FlightAware. Delta Air Lines said it would cancel roughly 170 flights Friday, while American Airlines plans to cut about 220 flights a day through Monday.
The FAA said the cuts would begin at 4% and ramp up to 10% by Nov. 14, affecting all commercial airlines between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. “Since the beginning of the shutdown, controllers have been working without pay, and staffing triggers at air traffic facilities across the country have been increasing,” said the FAA in a statement. “This has resulted in increased reports of strain on the system from both pilots and air traffic controllers. This past weekend, there were 2,740 delays at various airports.”
Impact on New Orleans and Package Delivery
Airlines say they will work to minimize disruptions for passengers, but routes to and from smaller and mid-size cities, including some to New Orleans, may be among the first affected.
The cuts could also ripple through the shipping industry. Two of the affected airports, FedEx’s hub in Memphis, Tennessee, and UPS’s main air facility in Louisville, Kentucky, serve as major national distribution centers. Reduced operations there could slow package deliveries across the country.
Government Shutdown Strains Air Traffic Control
The FAA said the reductions are needed to relieve pressure on air traffic controllers who have been working without pay for more than a month. Many have been assigned six-day workweeks with mandatory overtime, and a growing number have begun calling in sick or unable to work as financial stress and fatigue mount. The staffing crisis stems from the broader government shutdown, which remains unresolved amid partisan gridlock in Washington.
The standoff has centered on budget negotiations, where Republicans argue that the expanded health insurance subsidies, enacted temporarily through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and later extended under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, are too costly to make permanent.
According to a Sept. 17 analysis by the Urban Institute, 4.8 million Americans could lose coverage in 2026 if the enhanced tax credits expire, with Louisiana among the states facing the steepest declines. In addition, reductions in coverage drive up uncompensated care burdens, straining hospitals and state budgets. Unpaid medical costs become “uncompensated care” and hospitals must either absorb the losses, shift costs to insured patients, or seek state or federal support.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that keeping the enhanced credits in place for another decade would cost more than $300 billion. GOP leaders frame the issue as one of fiscal responsibility, saying the federal government cannot afford another large, “entitlement-style program” without worsening the national deficit.
At the same time, Republican lawmakers are advancing tax legislation that significantly benefits high-income households by permanently extending individual tax-rate cuts, raising the estate-tax exemption and expanding the deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) — changes that independent analysts say overwhelmingly favor the wealthy.
Republican leaders have so far refused to reopen negotiations with Democratic lawmakers, insisting that any deal must first meet their spending and tax policy demands.
Airports Impacted – List
The 40 affected high impact airports include:
ANC – Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport
ATL – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
BOS – Boston Logan International Airport
BWI – Baltimore/Washington International Airport
CLT – Charlotte Douglas International Airport
CVG – Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
DAL – Dallas Love Field
DCA – Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
DEN – Denver International Airport
DFW – Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
DTW – Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
EWR – Newark Liberty International Airport
FLL – Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport
HNL – Honolulu International Airport
HOU – William P. Hobby Airport
IAD – Washington Dulles International Airport
IAH – George Bush Houston Intercontinental Airport
IND – Indianapolis International Airport
JFK – New York John F. Kennedy International Airport
LAS – Las Vegas McCarran International Airport
LAX – Los Angeles International Airport
LGA – New York LaGuardia Airport
MCO – Orlando International Airport
MDW – Chicago Midway International Airport
MEM – Memphis International Airport
MIA – Miami International Airport
MSP – Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport
OAK – Oakland International Airport
ONT – Ontario International Airport
ORD – Chicago O’Hare International Airport
PDX – Portland International Airport
PHL – Philadelphia International Airport
PHX – Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
SAN – San Diego International Airport
SDF – Louisville International Airport
SEA – Seattle–Tacoma International Airport
SFO – San Francisco International Airport
SLC – Salt Lake City International Airport
TEB – Teterboro Airport
TPA – Tampa International Airport
