Flight cancellations climb Tuesday as Trump warns controllers of ‘docking’
Although the Senate has voted to end the government shutdown, the fallout isn’t over yet. Airlines are still canceling flights, and frustrated travelers remain stuck as the ripple effects continue to spread.
U.S. airlines cancelled more than 2,000 flights on Monday, and nearly 9,000 were delayed.
The hardest hit hubs were Chicago, Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth, where the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered airlines to scale back flights as staffing shortages among air traffic controllers deepen.
Controllers have now been without pay for more than six weeks, missing two paychecks while working mandatory overtime just to keep flights moving. President Donald Trump turned up the pressure on them Monday.
“All air traffic controllers must get back to work, now!!!” he posted on Truth Social. “Anyone who doesn’t will be substantially ‘docked.'”
He praised those still on the job as “great patriots,” promising $10,000 bonuses.
Many passengers, though, said they put the blame squarely on the government, not the air traffic controllers.
“I definitely don’t blame the employees, like, they should be getting paid, so it’s definitely the government’s fault,” Detroit resident Annie Pollack said. “And it’s like, pay your employees so that this doesn’t happen to us, you know?”
Airlines brace for more turbulence Tuesday with another round of flight reductions set to kick in.
In fact, carriers are required to reduce operations by at least and addition 6% Tuesday morning at dozens of airports, according to the emergency order from the U.S. Department of Transportation last week. That number is set to reach 10% by the end of the week unless the government is reopened.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
