Nearly 1,460 US flights cancelled, 6,000 delayed on second day of FAA mandated cuts amid longest government shutdown

US airlines cancelled 1,460 flights on the second day of Federal Aviation Administration mandated flight cuts across the country and thousands of flights were delayed, adding to travel worries as air-traffic-controller absences rose amid the federal government shutdown, Reuters reported.

The agency on Saturday flagged major air traffic control staffing concerns, affecting 37 airport towers and other centers and delaying flights in around 12 major US cities such as Atlanta, Newark, San Francisco, Chicago and New York.

Nearly 6,000 flights were delayed on Saturday, compared to 7,000 flight delays on Friday and 1,025 were canceled.

From Friday onwards, the FAA directed airlines to cut 4% of daily flights at 40 major airports due to air traffic control safety woes. The flights delays come at a time after shutdown has reached a record 39 days, resulting in shortages of air traffic controllers who, like other federal employees, have not been paid for weeks.

The flight cuts are expected to rise to 6% on Tuesday and then touch 10% by November 14.

FAA was prompted to enforce ground delay programs at nine airports on Saturday due to air traffic absences, causing 282 minutes delays on an average for flights at Atlanta, one of the busiest airports in the US.

The flight cuts began at 6 am (ET) on Friday, include nearly 700 flights from the four largest airlines including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.

These airlines cancelled nearly the same number of flights on Saturday, as per the FAA mandate but were forced to cancel additional flights due to air traffic control staffing issues.

This week, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said 20% to 40% of controllers have been absent from work over unpaid dues of previous days.

Who needs to be blamed?

Senator Ted Cruz blamed the shutdown for air traffic control concerns at the US Senate debate on Friday. Cruz, a Republican candidate and Senate Commerce Committee chair said he has been told that after shutdown started, pilots have filed more than 500 voluntary safety reports about mistakes made by air traffic controllers due to fatigue.

On Saturday, Senate majority leader John Thune said, bipartisan talks to end the shutdown had taken a positive turn, but the workday ended with no deals announced. The Senate is to try again with a rare Sunday session.

During the government shutdown, 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 security screeners have been forced to work without pay, leading to increased absenteeism.

On Thursday, several air traffic controllers were notified that they would receive no compensation for a second consecutive pay period next week. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said it was possible to cut 20% air traffic if more controllers remain absent.