WASHINGTON, Nov 6, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - US officials said the scheduled capacity 
for flights was being cut by 10 percent in 40 busy air traffic areas 
nationwide on Friday, as the longest government shutdown drags on.

Federal agencies have been grinding to a halt since Congress failed to 
approve funding past September 30, with some 1.4 million federal workers, 
from air traffic controllers to park wardens, still on enforced leave or 
working without pay.

"There is going to be a 10 percent reduction in capacity at 40 of our 
locations," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told a White House news 
briefing on Wednesday, adding they would come into effect on Friday.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Bryan Bedford said the cuts would 
be at "40 high traffic environment markets."

According to a proposed list provided to CBS News, some of the nation's 
busiest airports in Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles and New York City could be 
among those hit.

AFP contacted the Department of Transport and FAA seeking details about which 
airports would be affected.

The government shutdown became the longest in history on Wednesday, eclipsing 
the 35-day record set during President Donald Trump's first term.

Airport workers calling in sick rather than working without pay -- which led 
to significant delays -- was a major factor in Trump bringing an end to that 
2019 shutdown.

- 'Jeopardy' -

More than 60,000 air traffic controllers and Transportation Security 
Administration officers are now working without pay, and the White House has 
warned that increased absenteeism could create chaos at check-in lines.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said in late October that five percent of flight 
delays had been the result of staffing shortages but that number had now 
increased to more than 50 percent.

He warned at the time that the "longer the shutdown goes on, and as fewer air 
traffic controllers show up to work, the safety of the American people is 
thrown further into jeopardy."

However, Democrats and Republicans have both remained unwavering over the 
main sticking point in the shutdown: health care spending.

Democrats say they will only provide votes to end the funding lapse after a 
deal has been struck to extend expiring insurance subsidies that make health 
care affordable for millions of Americans.

But Republicans insist they will only address health care once Democrats have 
voted to switch the lights back on in Washington.

Trump has sought to apply his own pressure to force Democrats to cave by 
threatening mass layoffs of federal workers and using the shutdown to target 
progressive priorities.

He repeated on Tuesday his administration's threat to cut off a vital aid 
program that helps 42 million Americans pay for groceries for the first time 
in its more than 60-year history, even though the move was blocked by two 
courts.

The White House later clarified that it was "fully complying" with its legal 
obligations and was working to get partial Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 
Program payments "out the door as much as we can and as quickly as we can."