Greater than 1,500 flights had been canceled nationwide on Saturday — with extra cancellations anticipated via Sunday — because the Federal Aviation Administration continued limiting flight capability at 40 main U.S. airports amid the federal government shutdown.
As of 10 p.m. ET on Saturday, 1,521 flights had been canceled nationwide and greater than 6,400 flights delayed — eclipsing Friday’s toll of 1,024 cancelations.
Main delays at airports throughout the nation continued to persist resulting from staffing points in air site visitors controller towers and facilities.
A flight is listed as cancelled on a show at San Diego Worldwide Airport Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in San Diego.
Gregory Bull/AP
By Saturday evening, there have been over 40 air site visitors management staffing triggers at services throughout the nation afternoon. There have been staffing-related floor stops at airports throughout the U.S. all through the day Saturday.
Up to now, Delta was seeing about 7% of its flights canceled and one other 30% delayed. American Airways and United each had about 3% of their flights Saturday canceled and 30% delayed. Southwest had about 3% of its flights canceled and 25% delayed.
If the federal government shutdown continues, extra air journey reductions might be on the best way, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated in an interview on ABC Information Reside on Friday.
“My hope is that this authorities shutdown will finish quickly and we will get again within the enterprise of letting Individuals journey,” Duffy stated within the interview.
It’s potential the Division of Transportation could ask airways to cancel greater than 10% of their flights if controllers preserve calling out in greater numbers, Duffy informed ABC Information.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 07: An Air France airplane takes off over a United Airways airplane at San Francisco Worldwide Airport (SFO) on November 07, 2025 in San Francisco, California. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) is lowering flights by 10 p.c at 40 main airports nationwide, together with SFO, starting Friday amid air site visitors management staffing shortages ensuing from the federal authorities shutdown.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Pictures
Duffy stated the FAA has requested non-public jets to keep away from flying on the 40 airports impacted by the flight reductions, although they’re at the moment not prohibited from flying there. He stated non-public jet corporations have been cooperative and are selecting alternate airports to assist alleviate the stress at these airports.
The cancellations are the newest — and maybe largest — disruption to air journey because the authorities shutdown started greater than a month in the past.
The FAA determined to not reduce any worldwide flights as it might be a violation of worldwide agreements with the international locations, in accordance with Duffy.
“We now have worldwide agreements that we abide by, and due to these worldwide agreements, I am not going to affect these worldwide flights. And since if I do, what is going to occur is we have now different international locations which can be ready to have a breach of these contracts from the US to allow them to reduce down American flights, after which that will have a really lengthy lasting affect on our potential to to to ship vacationers from the U.S. to these companions which have the agreements,” Duffy stated.
