How reduced air traffic may lead to flight cancellations and delays  

Starting Friday, airports will follow the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) directive to reduce flights as a result of the government shutdown, impacting air travel for millions of Americans.

The FAA is reducing flight capacity at 40 “high-traffic” airports, FAA administrator Bryan Bedford said Wednesday. This includes John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, Logan International Airport in Boston, Los Angeles International Airport and Denver International Airport. The reductions will start at 4 percent on Friday and eventually increase to 10 percent by Nov. 14, according to a Thursday Department of Transportation (DOT) news release.

Bedford said this will keep travelers safe. In a statement, the FAA said it will slow traffic into "some airports to ensure safe operations" as a result of "increased staffing shortages."

As many as 1,800 flights and 268,000 seats could be affected, The Associated Press reported, citing an estimate from aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Airlines will also be impacted, including American Airlines. The airline will reduce flight schedules by 4 percent across those 40 airports between Friday and Saturday, resulting in the cancelations of 220 flights a day, according to a statement obtained by NewsNation, The Hill's sister network.

"Even with these cancellations, we plan to operate around 6,000 daily flights. We are continuing to communicate with impacted customers," the airline stated. "Disrupting customers’ plans is the last thing we want to do, and we have issued a travel waiver."

The airline praised federal aviation employees working without pay, but said it was unacceptable.

"We, once again, urge leaders in Washington to reach an immediate resolution to end the shutdown," the airline added.

Southwest Airlines is evaluating how the FAA directive will impact its flights. Delta Air Lines intends to operate most flights "as planned, including all long-haul international service, and our teams are working hard to minimize any impact on your travel while keeping safety our top priority," the airline said in a statement. United Airlines, meanwhile, stated that its flights "have been adjusted."

"If your flight is impacted, you will be automatically rebooked on a different flight and notified via the United app, https://united.com or a text," United stated. "If you'd like to change that flight, you can do that on the United app or https://united.com."

Delta said long-haul international flights should not be impacted. United will continue to have long-haul international flights operate across seven airports, including Newark Liberty Airport, George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and Dulles International Airport in the Washington, D.C., area.

Travelers can also contact customer service representatives with their airline via phone, email or directly to the airline's account on the social platform X. Those with canceled or delayed flights can still request a refund under protections in place by the DOT, which remain in effect amidst the shutdown.

American, Delta and United will offer refunds for passengers who choose not to fly, while Southwest said it will offer refunds through Wednesday.

Additionally, travelers can keep track of their flight statuses online or through third-party websites and apps, including FlightAware, or by checking the FAA’s National Airspace System Status.

Travelers should also have a back-up plan, Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle said.

“If you are headed to a wedding, funeral or something you must be somewhere for in the next few days—given the risk of flights cancelling I would suggest passengers buy a backup ticket on another carrier that departs after the first ticket,” Biffle said in an Instagram post. “That way if your flight cancels you have an immediate backup.”