BBC:
US officials plan to axe the number of flights at 40 of the country’s busiest airports – potentially resulting in thousands of cancelled flights as they try to ease pressure on air traffic controllers.
Control towers at airports have been grappling with absences of air traffic controllers who are calling out sick or taking side jobs as they work without pay during the federal government shutdown.
Altogether, hundreds of thousands of federal workers are not being paid because lawmakers have not been able to pass a budget. On Wednesday, the funding impasse became the longest shutdown in US history.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thursday formally announced the list of airports where flights will be cancelled. The cuts won’t apply to international flights, but specific airlines may choose to also axe some of those flights, too, the FAA said.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told the BBC’s US partner, CBS News, that the decision to reduce flight capacity will take “pressure” out of the system.
Several of the largest US airlines have said customers will be allowed to adjust their flights or cancel them preemptively for free.
Here is what we know as the US prepares for the cuts, which will start officially on Friday.
