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Amid the historic federal government shutdown approaches day 38, US skies will become somewhat quieter. The same cannot be said for US terminals.

Protective Actions Enacted

Donald Trump’s aviation regulatory body has said flight numbers are being lowered to uphold air traffic control safety during the federal government shutdown, currently the lengthiest in history and with no apparent progress of a resolution between conservative legislators and Democratic representatives to end the federal budget deadlock.

Aviation authorities pinpointed “congested corridors” where the FAA says air traffic needs cutting by 4% by 6am ET on Friday, an action that will compel airlines to scrub numerous flights and cause a chain reaction of scheduling complications and delays at major US air terminals.

Official Statement

Trump’s transportation chief, Sean Duffy, stated on online platforms Thursday that the decision was “not about politics” but rather “concerned with reviewing the data and reducing accumulating danger in the system as air traffic professionals continue working without pay”.

“It’s safe to fly today, tomorrow, and the day after because of the preventive measures we are taking,” Duffy stated.

Travel Disruptions

Specialists anticipate numerous potentially thousands of flights may be scrapped. The flight decreases could represent up to 1,800 flights and more than 268,000 seats combined, according to an projection by the aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Affected Airports

The involved terminals spanning more than two dozen states include the most trafficked across the US – featuring ATL, North Carolina's city, Colorado's hub, DFW, MCO, LAX, Florida hotspot and San Francisco. In some of the biggest cities – like NYC, Houston and Illinois hub – multiple airports will be involved.

All three airports operating in the Washington DC area – Washington Dulles international, BWI and Reagan National – will be impacted, certainly generating schedule changes for government officials as well as the flying public.

Other Developments

• This is the list of US airports reducing air travel on Friday as a result of federal government shutdown.
• A previous justice department staffer who threw a sandwich at a federal officer during the administration's law enforcement surge in DC was found not guilty of assault by a DC jury on Thursday marking another legal setback of the federal involvement.
• Some Democratic legislators interpreted Tuesday’s significant election victories as evidence they should hold the line and gain maximum concessions from Republicans before consenting to conclude the lengthiest federal closure in history.
• Liberal lawmakers commended Nancy Pelosi as a “bold, groundbreaking” member of the US House of Representatives, an “icon” and the “finest presiding officer in American history”, after her announcement that after 20 terms in Congress she intends to step down.
• Kevin Roberts, the leader of the right-leaning policy organization behind the policy blueprint, expressed regret for endorsing Tucker Carlson’s interview with Hitler supporter Nick Fuentes, but is declining demands to leave his position.