Here’s everything you need to know about the looming disruptions.
The Federal Aviation Administration released an emergency order late Thursday that directs airlines to phase in a 10 percent reduction in domestic flights at dozens of major airports nationwide, starting Friday morning.
The FAA previously announced the plan Wednesday, citing evidence of fatigue among air traffic controllers, who are working without pay during the ongoing government shutdown.
The order says airlines must reduce their daily scheduled domestic flights by 4 percent starting at 6 a.m. Friday across 40 busy airports nationally, including Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C. The directive applies to flights that occur between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. each day.
Airlines will have to gradually move up to a 10 percent cut, going to 6 percent by Nov. 11, then 8 percent by Nov. 13 and, finally, 10 percent by Nov. 14, according to the document.
The order does not mandate a reduction in international flights.
The Transportation Department said airlines will be required to issue full refunds in the event of a cancellation.
“We are seeing signs of stress in the system, so we are proactively reducing the number of flights to make sure the American people continue to fly safely,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in a statement. The agency “will continue to closely monitor operations, and we will not hesitate to take further action to make sure air travel remains safe.”
Flights will need to be cut seven days in advance “on a rolling schedule,” according to the order. The FAA said it expects airlines to “work cooperatively” to achieve “evenly distributed reductions throughout the day that do not have disproportionate impacts on communities or specific hours of the day.” If carriers fail to do so, the agency “may direct cancellations on a more prescriptive basis.”
The FAA said it can enforce the order through civil penalties, potentially seeking as much as $75,000 for each flight a major company operates above the new limits.
In a Thursday letter from William McKenna, the FAA’s chief counsel, to the Justice Department, McKenna noted that the agency will be able to reject or direct changes to airlines’ cuts.
General aviation flights may also be reduced by up to 10 percent under the order, and it prohibits commercial space launches during busy times of the day.
“Once funding is restored and the FAA has confidence the stress in the system has adequately decreased, the [agency] expects to roll back operational restrictions required by this order to restore normal operations,” the document says.