Flight Cancellations to Continue Even After Shutdown Ends Amid Trump’s Warning to Controllers
Chaos to worsen even if shutdown ends today.
Air travelers across the United States are facing an escalating nightmare as the partial government shutdown enters its second month, with the Federal Aviation Administration announcing deeper mandatory flight cuts at 40 major airports that will climb to a staggering 10 percent by the end of the week, guaranteeing thousands more cancellations and multi-hour delays regardless of when the political impasse in Washington finally ends.
On Monday alone, airlines were forced to scrap more than 2,300 flights, with another 1,000 already grounded for Tuesday, pushing the total number of canceled flights since Friday past 8,000. The root cause is a growing wave of unpaid air traffic controllers calling out sick due to financial stress and exhaustion, prompting the FAA to impose progressive reductions of 4 percent, then 6 percent, and eventually 10 percent at the nation’s busiest hubs to maintain safety margins.
President Donald Trump intensified the crisis on Monday by publicly threatening controllers on social media, demanding they “get back to work, NOW!!!” while proposing $10,000 bonuses for those who stayed and pay docking for absentees. Democratic leaders and the controllers’ union immediately condemned the remarks as reckless and divisive, insisting that the professionals keeping America’s skies safe deserve gratitude and immediate back pay, not intimidation during what has become the longest shutdown in history.
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Even if the Senate-passed bill to reopen the government clears the House in the coming days, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has warned that the drastic flight restrictions will remain in full force until staffing levels stabilize at critical air traffic facilities. Industry experts emphasize that recovery will be painfully slow because thousands of aircraft are now stranded far from their scheduled routes, requiring complex repositioning along with locating available pilots and crew — a logistical nightmare that could take weeks to untangle.
Frustrated passengers are bearing the full brunt of the chaos, from missing irreplaceable family milestones to facing five-hour delays at airports like Chicago O’Hare, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Nashville. With controllers missing their second consecutive payday on Tuesday and many families openly discussing how long they can keep their homes, the human cost of the political standoff continues to mount, leaving millions of Americans stranded and furious at an entirely avoidable national crisis.
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