Why more than 1700 flights were cancelled in US? The reason is US government shutdown and…

US Flight Cancellations: More than  1,700 flights were cancelled, while thousands more were delayed over the weekend as airlines across the United States faced crippling staffing shortages due to the ongoing government. According to data from flight tracking website FlightAware, over 1,500 flights were cancelled and more than 6,600 delayed on Saturday alone, while an additional 1,000 cancellations and hundreds of delays were reported for Sunday, CNN reported.

Why US faced mass flight cancellations?

As per the CNN report, US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the massive disruptions in flight operations were the result of staffing shortfalls as air traffic controllers and federal security screeners missed paychecks amid the budget impasse during the ongoing US government shutdown.

The disruption come after the FAA directed airlines to reduce domestic flights by 4 percent at 40 of the country’s busiest airports, with officials arguing that the reductions were necessary to maintain safety standards during the shutdown. However, the move has failed to prevent flight delays and cancellations.

The FAA plans to increase mandatory flight cuts to 6 percent by Tuesday, 8 percent by Thursday, and 10 percent by next Friday, if the US government shutdown continues. The number could surge to as high as 15-20 percent if Congress does not resolve the budget deadlock soon, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duff told Fox News.

Meanwhile, former FAA Deputy Administrator Dan Elwell described the unfolding crisis as “uncharted territory,” warning that the disruption could worsen and jeopardise upcoming holiday travel if the shutdown persists, CNN reported.

Which airports were hit hardest?

According to CNN, some of US’ busiest airport bore the brunt of the flight disruptions, with three major airports in New York City– Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia, and John F. Kennedy International –experienced hours-long delays on Saturday, with the FAA temporarily issuing a ground stop for incoming flights to Newark after average arrival delays exceeded four hours earlier on Saturday.

Departures from LaGuardia faced delays of up to 75 minutes, while flights in and out of JFK were held up by more than two hours on average, it said, adding the arrivals at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport were delayed by nearly five and a half hours, while Washington, DC’s Reagan National Airport saw nearly 80 flights cancelled on Friday and almost half of all arrivals delayed, as per FlightAware data

Additionally, major airports in Chicago, Denver, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Phoenix, Seattle, and Orlando also reported significant disruptions, while international travel was also hit, with major global hubs such as Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, Toronto’s Pearson Airport, and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport reporting cancellations reaching into double digits,

(With inputs from agencies)