Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) — More than 1,000 flights were canceled in the United States on Friday as air travel was slashed by a shortage of air traffic controllers amid the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history.
US flight tracking website FlightAware showed that 4,309 flights were delayed and 1,002 cancelled as of 5 p.m. Friday.
The move comes after the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Wednesday that they would reduce air travel to 40 destinations across the country starting Friday.
The FAA's flight cancellation plan calls for reducing flights by 4 percent on Friday, 6 percent by next Tuesday, 8 percent by Thursday, and 10 percent by Friday.
FAA Administrator Brian Bedford said earlier this week that reducing airport capacity by 10 percent would be appropriate to continue reducing the workload on air traffic controllers.
Transport Minister Sean Duffy said on Friday that the reduction in air travel could reach 20 percent if the shutdown drags on.
Since the shutdown, approximately 13,000 air traffic controllers and approximately 50,000 airport security personnel have been forced to work without pay. Duffy recently stated that some air traffic controllers are working 10-hour days, six days a week.
More and more employees are taking leave, leading to a severe staffing shortage in the aviation industry, exacerbating flight delays in many regions, and raising safety concerns. FlightAware data shows thousands of flights are being delayed nationwide every day. On Thursday, more than 7,000 domestic and international flights were delayed.
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