Major U.S. airlines have canceled hundreds of flights scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday as they prepare for a new limit on air traffic at the nation’s busiest airports.
The FAA cut traffic by 4% at 40 airports on Friday, forcing the cancellation of thousands of flights and delaying thousands more. A cut of 6% will take effect on Tuesday.
United provided a full list of canceled flights on its website. According to the list, the carrier planned to drop 186 flights on Monday, 263 on Tuesday, and 271 on Wednesday.
United said last week that it will concentrate its mandatory cancellations on domestic mainline routes.
Delta said it has completed its schedule changes through Wednesday but did not offer a total number of canceled flights for that timeframe. Approximately 280 Delta mainline and 215 Delta Connection flights were dropped on Monday.
American said it has canceled about 200 flights through Tuesday.
About 2,100 flights have been canceled so far on Monday across all airlines flying into, out of, and within the U.S. An even greater number, about 6,800, were delayed.
The FAA is restricting flying in an attempt to ease the burden on air traffic controllers, who have been working without pay for weeks due to the federal government shutdown. A growing number of controllers are calling out from their shifts, and some have resigned.
A bipartisan plan to reopen the government has taken shape in the U.S. Senate, but it is unclear how quickly the compromise can be passed into law. If the shutdown drags on through this week, the FAA’s traffic cuts will rise to 8% on Thursday and 10% on Friday.
