Travelers at airports across the U.S. are preparing to be grounded because of the record-long federal government shutdown.

The FAA announced this week it may reduce flights by up to 10% across 40 of the nation's busiest airports — potentially causing delays and cancellations in and out of major hubs including Denver, New York, Houston and Chicago.

"When we see pressures building in these 40 markets, we just can't ignore it, and we're not going to wait for a safety problem to truly manifest itself when the early indicators are telling us we can take action today to prevent things from deteriorating," said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford.

A 10% cut could affect as many as 1,800 flights, according to one estimate, plus slow down cargo jets.

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