California airports are expected to be hard hit by dramatic reduction in flights as the Federal Aviation Administration plans to cut air traffic by 10% at 40 airports to maintain travel safety during the government shutdown.
Five of the state’s airports — Los Angeles International Airport, Ontario International Airport, San Diego International Airport, Oakland International Airport and San Francisco International Airport — will be targeted for cuts, according to a list reviewed by news outlets.
Thousands of flights across the country are likely to be canceled in the unprecedented action to keep the air space safe as the government shutdown goes into its second month, according to agency administrator Bryan Bedford.
“I’m not aware in my 35-year history in the aviation market where we’ve had a situation where we’re taking these kinds of measures,” Bedford said at a Wednesday press conference. “We’re in new territory in terms of government shutdowns.”
Since the shutdown began Oct. 1, nearly 13,000 air traffic controllers have been working unpaid. With growing fatigue among air traffic controllers, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said he did not want to wait until staffing pressures compromised safety.
“What we’re finding is that our air traffic controllers, because of the financial pressures at home, are taking side jobs. They need to put food in the table, gas in the car, pay their bills,” Duffy said.
“We do not want to see disruptions at the FAA or here at [the Department of Transportation]. We don’t want that. But our number one priority is to make sure when you travel, you travel safely.”
Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said Duffy made the right decision.
“Pressures are building in the system,” she said on X, noting that Duffy acted to mitigate risk. “THIS is safety management, the very foundation of our aviation system, and it’s the right thing to do.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
