If the U.S. government shutdown does not end soon, air travel disruptions are likely

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began reducing air traffic at 40 airports on Friday due to air traffic controller staffing issues resulting from the government shutdown.

As the government shutdown lasts 40 days, more air traffic control officers have refused to come to work because they are about to miss a second paycheck next week, prompting the FAA to make budget cuts to ensure no safety issues arise.

But these flight reductions will likely continue if the shutdown occurs — or worsens — and could impact thousands of daily flights, according to Marc Scribner, senior transportation policy analyst at the libertarian think tank Reason Foundation.

“This would affect thousands of flights per day and potentially tens of thousands of passengers would have their flights canceled – a major disruption,” Scribner told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

As of Sunday, there are now enough Democratic senators willing to support a revamped plan to reopen the government. But if the shutdown does not end, there is a risk of disruption to air travel.

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“I don’t think we would expect, if the shutdown continues, to see any improvement in staffing levels from where they are now,” Scribner said. “If anything, they will continue to deteriorate as controllers call in sick or perhaps even resign. So I expect the situation will not improve as long as the shutdown continues.”

Scribner said travelers should not be concerned that reducing the number of flights would result in a lapse in security, but should be aware that their travel schedules would likely suffer.

“They are not going to allow unsafe flights. So whatever that means in terms of staffing capacity and workflow, they are going to reduce flights in order to maintain the very high level of safety that is required,” Scribner said. “Travelers should not worry about their safety, but they should worry about their travel schedules, which may be affected.”

Richard Stern, director of the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget at the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, also said he expects this reduction to continue until the shutdown ends.

“Unfortunately, I think it’s going to have to continue until the shutdown ends, because they’re using resources that they won’t have until that funding becomes available again,” Stern told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

Stern said the government is now entering uncharted territory when it comes to the minimum services it is required to provide, despite the fact that funding has expired.

“No one really knows exactly what the next steps are going to be after this,” Stern said.

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Large metropolitan areas with multiple airports like New York and Chicago, shown here, will experience outages in multiple locations. (Nam Y. Huh, File/Associated Press)

No details were provided as to how long this reduction in flights is expected to continue. The Department of Transportation, which oversees the FAA, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

The FAA announced Friday that air traffic would be reduced by 10% in the coming days in 40 “high-volume” markets, including those in major cities like Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Orlando, Miami and San Francisco, according to a list of airports obtained by The Associated Press. Large metropolitan areas with multiple airports like New York and Chicago will experience outages in multiple locations.

The reduction in air traffic in response to a lack of funding due to the government shutdown is unprecedented, according to FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford.

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“In my 35 years of experience in the aviation market, I have not been aware of a situation where we were taking these kinds of actions,” Bedford said at a news conference Wednesday.

Air traffic controllers have been working without pay since the shutdown began on October 1 and are often required to work six days a week in addition to mandatory overtime.

Bedford said the decision to reduce air traffic was taken in order to avoid the emergence of a crisis, against a backdrop of increased staffing pressures and voluntary pilot safety reports suggesting air traffic controllers were facing increased levels of fatigue.

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“We’re not going to wait until a safety issue actually manifests itself when the early indicators tell us we can act today to prevent things from getting worse,” Bedford said. “The system is extremely safe today and will be safe tomorrow. If pressures continue to grow even after we have taken these steps, we will come back and take additional steps.”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks alongside Rep. Tom Emmer and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, October 23. (Eric Lee/Getty Images)

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.