Tucson sees minor effect of air traffic reductions

Friday was the first day of an air traffic cutback to ease the strain on the air traffic control system. Controllers are short-handed because of the Federal Government shutdown, so the FAA is limiting air traffic at 40 of our busiest airportsfour percent at firstup to ten percent in a few days.

Tucson International is not on the list of 40 airports where the Federal Aviation Administration is dialing back air traffic. But because of the way air traffic is so intertwined, if something happens at those other airports it can have a spillover effect here.

Tucson International does have direct flights to and from 17 of the 40 airports on that FAA list, so cancellations at those airports can affect traffic here.

But on the first day of the FAA reductions the effect on Tucson International was