FAA to reduce flights at 40 airports beginning Friday amid safety, staffing concerns
T.Romo - November 6, 2025
Washington — Air travelers could face cancellations starting Friday as the Federal Aviation Administration begins reducing flight capacity at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports. Locally, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Ontario International (ONT) are included on the list; Burbank Airport (BUR) is not.
Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford announced the action Wednesday, citing safety data and ongoing reports of air traffic controller fatigue. Duffy confirmed the move will take effect Friday, and acknowledged the potential for disruptions as the agency seeks to ease pressure on the national airspace system (NAS).
The FAA will implement a 10% reduction in flights at designated high-volume airports, based on data identifying where controller staffing and workload pose the greatest safety concerns. Duffy said the changes are intended to prevent risk, not react to it.
“Our No. 1 priority is to make sure when you travel, you travel safely,” he said during Wednesday’s Department of Transportation news conference. “Our sole role is to make sure we keep this airspace as safe as possible.”
The FAA’s analysis includes voluntary safety disclosure reports from commercial air transport pilots identifying fatigue-related issues at certain facilities. Bedford noted that the NAS is “running as efficiently today, in terms of its safety metrics, as it was before the lapse,” but added that the agency is “looking for a radical reduction across these 40 markets over the next 48 hours.”
The plan will also affect some noncommercial operations, including restrictions on space launches and visual flight rules (VFR) traffic in markets affected by ongoing controller shortages. Bedford said the agency has not specifically considered international operations.
When asked whether the restrictions will lift if the federal shutdown ends, Duffy said the data will determine whether the restrictions increase or are rolled back. Bedford added that the FAA first wants to see controller performance return to pre-shutdown levels before restoring prior capacity.
Duffy confirmed that air traffic controllers are expected to miss a second full paycheck next week.
Airports named by sources as subject to the reductions:
- Anchorage International
- Baltimore/Washington International
- Boston-Logan International
- Charlotte Douglas International
- Chicago Midway International
- Chicago O'Hare International
- Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International
- Dallas-Fort Worth International
- Dallas Love Field
- Denver International
- Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County
- Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International
- George Bush Houston Intercontinental
- Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International
- Honolulu International
- Houston Hobby
- Indianapolis International
- Las Vegas Harry Reid International
- Los Angeles International (LAX)
- Louisville Muhammad Ali International
- Memphis International
- Miami International
- Minneapolis–Saint Paul International
- New York LaGuardia
- New York John F. Kennedy International
- Newark Liberty International
- Oakland San Francisco Bay International
- Ontario International
- Orlando International
- Philadelphia International
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International
- Portland International
- Ronald Reagan Washington National
- San Diego International
- Salt Lake City International
- San Francisco International
- Seattle–Tacoma International
- Tampa International
- Teterboro
- Washington Dulles International