The first flights affected by a new Federal Aviation Administration directive led to widespread delays and cancellations Friday.

The FAA will ramp up to a 10% reduction in flights at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports by Nov. 14, starting with a 4% reduction Friday.

More than 1,000 flights had been canceled by 5 p.m. Eastern Friday, according to the flight tracker FlightAware.com, compared with just more than 200 on Thursday.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford announced the plan Wednesday. The reductions would help ease the strain on air traffic controllers, who have been working without pay during the government shutdown that began Oct. 1.

Duffy said controllers were taking second jobs to make ends meet and were experiencing fatigue and stres

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