Nearly 100 flights were cancelled at Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway International airports on the first day of flight reductions ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration amid the ongoing government shutdown.

The cancellation numbers include flights that had been scheduled to either arrive at or depart from Chicago’s airports Friday. All told, about 3% of flights departing O’Hare were cancelled and 2% of flights departing Midway were cancelled as of mid-morning Friday, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions.

The scene at O’Hare on Friday was calm, and multiple travelers interviewed by the Tribune said they had no problems. Terminal 2 was so deserted that workers there said it was unusual.

“This is a ghost town,” Engineer Sal Deleon said. “It’s Friday — it s

See Full Page