Flight timings and cancellations are displayed on the departures board, a month into the continuing U.S. government shutdown, at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., November 9, 2025.
Annabelle Gordon | Reuters
Flight cancellations were again piling up on Monday as air traffic controller shortages, worsened by the longest-ever U.S. government shutdown, snarled air travel coast to coast while President Donald Trump threatened to dock air traffic controllers’ pay in the event that they are absent from work.
On Monday, 1,623 of the 25,735 scheduled U.S. flights were canceled, around 6.3% of the day’s schedule, though on-time departures were higher than average, a superb sign after days of travel snarls, in response to aviation data firm Cirium.
Last week, the Trump administration ordered airlines to chop domestic flights at 40 major U.S. airports starting with 4% reductions last Friday and ramping as much as 10% by this coming Friday, Nov. 14, citing strains on air traffic controllers.
“All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!!,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, adding that he would recommend $10,000 bonuses for any air traffic controllers who didn’t take any time without work in the course of the shutdown. He said those that don’t immediately return to work could be “docked.”
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association in response said that air traffic controllers are “unsung heroes, who report for duty to securely guide this country’s passengers and cargo to their destinations.” The organization said they “deserve our praise” and “have actually earned it.”Â
Disruptions over the weekend included 18,576 delayed flights while 4,519 were canceled, in response to FlightAware. Cancellations spilled over from regional, short-haul jets — which the biggest U.S. airlines depend on for around half of domestic flights — to mainline flying.
United Airlines and Delta Air Lines were each offering flight attendants extra pay to choose up flights, in response to company messages seen by CNBC. United was also offering pilots extra pay for more flights than it normally does, an airline spokesman said. Such extra pay is common during storms or other disruptions.
American Airlines Chief Operating Officer David Seymour said Monday that 250,000 of its customers were affected by disruptions over the weekend, with 1,400 cancellations attributed to air traffic control.
“This is just unacceptable, and everybody deserves higher. Our air traffic controllers need to be paid and our airline must give you the chance to operate at a level of predictability and dependability that no major airline was capable of provide the flying public this weekend,” he said in a note to staff that was seen by CNBC.
Airlines were waiving change fees and in some cases, fare differences, depending on when customers could rebook travel. Customers could also request a full refund for the portion of their tickets they were unable to fly.
An indication of how severe air travel disruptions have grow to be in the course of the government shutdown: Sunday’s 2,631 U.S. flight cancellations, 10% of the day’s schedule, marked the fourth-worst day since January 2024, Cirium said.
As compared, on Friday morning, as Trump administration-mandated flight cuts took effect, cancellations ranked 72nd because the start of last yr.
The disruptions that upended the travel plans for tons of of 1000’s of travelers forced them to search for alternative transportation. Automotive rental company Hertz last week reported a rise in one-way demand. There’s also been increased demand for personal jet flights in recent days, in response to the CEO of charter and fractional ownership company Flexjet.
Though the Trump administration order didn’t initially require private aviation to chop in the identical way as industrial airlines, the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday began limiting those flights at a dozen U.S. airports. Nonetheless, many private jet operators don’t use the busiest industrial airports, said the National Business Aviation Association.
Increased strain
Air traffic controllers missed their second paycheck of the shutdown on Monday, though they’re still required to work. A few of them have taken second jobs to make ends meet, government and union officials have said.
A industrial airliner takes off past the air traffic control tower at San Diego International Airport in the course of the first day of a partial U.S. government shutdown in San Diego, California, U.S., Oct. 1, 2025.
Mike Blake | Reuters
“Now, they have to give attention to child care as a substitute of traffic flows. Food for his or her families as a substitute of runway separation,” Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said at a news conference on Monday. “The added stress results in fatigue, the fatigue has led to the erosion of safety and the increased risk daily that this shutdown drags on.”
The Senate made progress overnight on a deal that would end the shutdown, however it has not yet approved a funding bill.
Daniels said it is not yet clear how long it could take for controllers to receive back pay for his or her work. Within the shutdown that led to 2019, it took about 2½ months before the employees were made whole, he said.
Trump’s comments about air traffic controllers on Monday drew criticism from Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., rating member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, who called the statement “nuts!” and said it ran counter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s call for aviation employees’ support.
“The men and women working long hours in air traffic control towers to maintain the aviation system running deserve our thanks and appreciation, not unhinged attacks on their patriotism,” Larsen said.
An end to the shutdown also doesn’t suggest that the flight restrictions can be lifted immediately. The FAA last week said it should determine whether to extend or decrease the flight restrictions based on safety data.
While airlines had little time to make the last-minute schedule changes when the order got here out last week, to ramp up flying again they may need time to regulate schedules, sell seats and position planes and crews.
