US orders flights cut at major airports

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Wednesday that he would order a 10% cut in flights at 40 major US airports, citing air traffic control safety concerns as a government shutdown hit a record 36th day.

- DAVID SHEPARDSON RAJESH KUMAR SINGH

A commercial airliner flies past the Washington Monument in the US capital in October.REUTERS

(REUTERS)

The drastic plan sent airlines scrambling to make significant reductions in flights in just 36 hours and passengers flooded airline customer service hotlines with concerns about air travel in the coming days.

Mr Duffy said the cuts could be reversed if Democrats agreed to reopen the government.

The shutdown, the longest in US history, has forced 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration agents to work without pay.

The Trump administration has sought to ramp up pressure on Democrats to end the shutdown and has increasingly raised the spectre of dramatic aviation disruptions to force them to vote to reopen the government. Democrats contend Republicans are to blame for refusing to negotiate over key health care subsidies.

Tens of thousands of flights have been delayed since the shutdown began because of widespread air traffic control shortages. Airlines say at least 3.2 million travellers have already been impacted by air traffic control shortages.