This Friday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated in an interview with FOX that, due to the extended government shutdown, US airlines are expected to lose millions of dollars.

While Republicans and Democrats debate the federal budget in Congress, many entities have made drastic decisions, including reducing the wage cuts to federal workers. These cuts have generated discontent in several sectors, including aviation “Airlines have been good partners. They don't like this. They're going to lose millions of dollars because of this. They find it difficult to cancel flights,” Duffy added. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has drastically reduced flights at airports across the country due to the government shutdown. The plan is that if the government shutdown extends further, flights will initially be reduced to 4%, with the goal of reaching a 10% reduction at at least 40 airports. As FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford stated in a press release, “We are seeing signs of strain on the system, so we are proactively reducing the number of flights to ensure Americans can continue to fly safely.” According to Bedford, “The FAA will continue to closely monitor operations and we will not hesitate to take additional measures to ensure the safety of air travel.” For his part, Duffy commented that the best course of action is to reopen the government and pay air traffic controllers to reduce the pressure.