Southeast Asia Information Port (www.dnyxxg.com) – The US federal government shutdown entered its 38th day on July 7th, with thousands of flights canceled that day. Transportation Secretary Duffy said that if the shutdown continues, the government may have to ask airlines to cut up to 20% of their flights.
As of 4:59 PM Eastern Time on July 7th, flight tracking website data showed that 1,000 domestic and international flights had been canceled, four times the number on July 6th. This number continued to rise. As of 5:30 PM Eastern Time, 4,457 domestic and international flights were still delayed.
US media described the Department of Transportation's flight reduction measures during the government shutdown as "unprecedented." According to US media reports, the flight reductions began at 6:00 AM Eastern Time on July 7th, mainly affecting flights of the four major US airlines—American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines—at major airports in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Newark, and Denver.
Since the government shutdown, a shortage of air traffic controllers has caused severe flight delays and even cancellations. On March 5th, Duffy announced a 10% reduction in capacity at 40 busy airports across the US, starting March 7th. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered airlines on March 6th to gradually reduce domestic flights, starting with a 4% reduction on March 7th. If the shutdown continues, the reduction will increase to 6% by March 11th and to 10% by March 14th.
In an interview with Fox News in Washington, D.C., on March 7th, Duffy stated that if the government shutdown continues, the nationwide flight cancellation rate could rise to 15% or even 20%.
American Airlines CEO Robert E. Warham expressed concern that as flight reductions increase over time, "this will become a problem."
