US air travel chaos deepens as 3,300 flights cancelled amid shutdown

Air travel across the United States is descending into chaos as airlines cancel thousands of flights while the government shutdown drags into its 40th day.

More than 3,300 flights were cancelled and 10,000 delayed on Sunday, according to FlightAware, after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered reductions in air traffic due to a shortage of unpaid air traffic controllers. The FAA says domestic flights will be cut by 4 percent, rising to 10 percent by Friday.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that air travel could “slow to a trickle” ahead of the busy Thanksgiving holiday later this month.

“It doesn’t get better — it gets worse until these air traffic controllers are going to be paid,” Duffy told Fox News.

About 13,000 FAA controllers have been forced to work without pay since the shutdown began on October 1, with growing reports of fatigue and absences. The disruption comes just as the US Senate advanced a stopgap funding deal that could reopen the government through January, though the bill must still clear the House of Representatives and be signed by President Donald Trump.

Aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia said the restrictions could ease quickly once controllers are paid but questioned whether the FAA’s measures were based on real safety data. “People are right to be suspicious, particularly in light of other unnecessary cuts by the administration,” he told Al Jazeera.