US Shutdown affects passengers: Over 2,100 flights cancelled; transportation secretary Duffy accuses Schumer of 'playing politics'

Flight disruptions climbed sharply across the US on Sunday, with cancellations and delays far exceeding normal levels amid mounting pressure on the aviation system from the ongoing government shutdown.

Over 2,100 flights were cancelled on Sunday due to the shutdown and the FAA’s recent order to scale back air traffic, according to The Associated Press.

The cancellations, which affected 40 US airports, were reported by the AP at 5 pm ET on Sunday, along with 7,000 additional delays. More than 1,500 flights were cancelled on Saturday, following over 1,000 cancellations on Friday.Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta recorded the most cancellations on Sunday, with 173, followed by Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, with 115.

The FAA said staffing shortages at Newark and LaGuardia Airport in New York were leading to average departure delays of about 75 minutes.Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Michigan was mostly empty on Sunday morning, with minimal wait times at security checkpoints as delays and cancellations filled the departures and arrivals boards.

Transportation Secy accuses Schumer of 'playing politics' over shutdown

In a social media post on Sunday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of “playing politics” over the govt shutdown and the travel-related issues that have arisen from it.

In the X post, Duffy argued that the New York senator “voted 14 times to keep the government closed.”“14 times he refused to pay air traffic controllers,” Duffy’s post said. “14 times to keep Americans’ flights delayed. 14 times to use public pain as leverage. And then he says every day gets better!”Duffy also attached a video of a recent CNN clip where he explained his reasoning for reducing flights and air traffic controllers.

“I have more complaints coming into the FAA from pilots who are saying that air traffic controllers are not as responsive, they seem stressed, or they’re not using the appropriate language because they’re under pressure,” the official said. “So I look at that data. That came from the safety team, and the trend line is going in the wrong direction.

So I need to take action and make sure that we keep people safe.”In a November 7 X post, Schumer blamed Republicans for the shutdown and said that “the ball is in their court.”

“Democrats made an offer to Republicans to re-open the government and extend the ACA tax credits for one year,” wrote Schumer. “We’re calling their bluff.”

'Air travel be reduced to a trickle'

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that air travel across the US would worsen in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, noting that a “substantial” number of Americans may not be able to travel at all during the busy holiday. He made the remarks on CNN’s “State of the Union” as the govt shutdown hit day 40 – the longest in history. “To answer your question, it's only going to get worse,” Duffy said of air travel. “I look to the two weeks before Thanksgiving, you're going to see air travel be reduced to a trickle.” When asked if there was numerical data estimating how many Americans may not be able to visit their families during the year’s busiest travel holiday, Duffy replied: “I think the number is going to be substantial,” adding that the air travel situation has “only gotten worse as we've gone through the shutdown.” Duffy said the shutdown had led to a shortage of air traffic controllers, which had directly impacted flights, and warned that the effects could last beyond the reopening of the govt. “I used to have about four controllers retire a day before the shutdown. I'm now up to 15 to 20 a day are retiring,” Duffy said. “So it's going to be harder for me to come back after the shutdown and have more controllers controlling the airspace.

So this is going to live on in air travel well beyond the timeframe that this government opens back up.”