U.S. to reduce flight capacity at 40 airports this week amid shutdown

The U.S. will reduce flight capacity by 10 per cent at 40 of the nation’s airports starting Friday morning amid growing impacts from an air traffic controller shortage made worse by the U.S. government shutdown , officials said Wednesday.

The shutdown has forced 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers to work without pay, snarling tens of thousands of flights.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the move was necessary to maintain safety in the skies and at airports, adding “high volume” markets will be targeted.

“We thought 10 per cent was the right number based on the pressure we’ve been seeing,” Duffy told reporters at a press conference.

U.S. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the agency will release a list of the aff