More than 1,530 flights were cancelled in the United States, while thousands more were delayed on Saturday after authorities ordered airports to reduce air traffic because of the ongoing government shutdown.

According to figures published by the flight tracking website, FlightAware, the cancellations on Saturday marked an uptick from the 1,025 cancellations the day before.

The trend is set to continue into Sunday, with another 1,000 cancellations already reported on the website.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said there were air traffic control staffing issues affecting 42 airport towers and other centres and delaying flights in at least 12 major US cities, including Atlanta, Newark, San Francisco, Chicago and New York.

Flights crossing six different high-traffic areas were

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