United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby promised refunds to customers who did not want to fly during restrictions on flights imposed by U.S. transportation officials that are set to begin at the end of the week.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced in a Nov. 5 news conference that there will be a 10% reduction in flights at 40 major airports starting Friday, Nov. 7 due to impacts from the ongoing federal government shutdown. He did not specify when the reductions would end.

The drastic plan for flight reductions 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.

Kirby wrote that any customer is eligible for a refund while the reductions are in effect "even if their flight isn't impacted" in a memo to employees provided to USA TODAY. The offer includes non-refundable and basic economy tickets.

He also said that the airline will make rolling updates to its schedule as the record-breaking government shutdown continues and will provide travelers "several days' advance notice" of changes to minimize disruption.

United Airlines signals where flights may be cut

Kirby described the types of flights that may be cut under the reduction in the memo, saying that domestic flights that do not travel between the airline's hubs and "regional flying" are on the chopping block.

International flying and hub-to-hub flying will not be impacted, according to Kirby. The CEO said it was important to "give impacted customers as many options as possible to resume their trip."

United operates eight hubs in the U.S. and its territories, according to its website. They are:

  • Chicago - O’Hare International Airport
  • Denver - Denver International Airport
  • Guam - Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport
  • Houston - Houston/George Bush Intercontinental Airport
  • Los Angeles - Los Angeles International Airport
  • Newark - Newark Liberty International Airport
  • San Francisco - San Francisco International Airport
  • Washington D.C. - Washington Dulles International Airport

The memo noted that United will offer about 4,000 flights per day under the restrictions.

American Airlines says 'vast majority' will not be affected

USA TODAY reached out to multiple airlines for comment on the restrictions in the wake of the announcement.

American Airlines said in its statement provided to USA TODAY: "While we are awaiting additional information from the FAA to determine which flights will be impacted, we expect the vast majority of our customers’ travel will be unaffected."

The airline added that it would reach out to travelers impacted by schedule changes and recommended checking its website or app for flight status.

Southwest Airlines said it is "evaluating how the planned FAA flight reductions will affect our schedule and will communicate directly with Customers as soon as possible." Delta Air Lines referred comment to the Department of Transportation and the FAA.

Alaska Airlines called for an end to the government shutdown and said that it is awaiting further guidance from the FAA.

Jet Blue, Allegiant and Spirit did not respond to the request as of Nov. 5.

List of affected airports to be released

Transportation officials said in the news conference announcing the restrictions that the airports facing cuts will be announced Thursday, Nov. 6. Duffy warned earlier in the week that cuts could come as a result of pressure from the shutdown on the country's air traffic controllers.

Air traffic controllers and many other Federal Aviation Administration employees are considered essential workers, meaning they are required to report for duty despite not earning paychecks during the government shutdown.

While employees at both agencies are expected to get back pay for the duties they performed once the shutdown ends, many advocates say going weeks without pay puts them under additional stress and can result in the employees having to find other ways to earn temporary income.

Federal Aviation Administrator Bryan Bedford said that the reductions would "put the relief where the relief will do the most good" and that the FAA would work with airlines on how to implement them.

"We are starting to see some evidence that fatigue is building in the system in ways that we feel we need to work towards relieving some of that pressure," he said.

Contributing: Kathryn Palmer, Kathleen Wong, Zach Wichter – USA TODAY; Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: United Airlines CEO announces refund offer ahead of flight restrictions

Reporting by James Powel, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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