The Federal aviation Administration (FAA) will reduce flight capacity by 10 percent at 40 major airports across the country starting Friday due to critical shortages among air traffic controllers and other flight support staff, thousands of whom have been forced to work without pay for a month due to the Democrat-led government shutdown.
The restrictions will go into effect Friday morning, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced during a press conference on Wednesday. The airports affected will be announced Thursday, officials said.
According to a report from ABC News citing sources familiar with the matter, reductions will start at four percent as early as Friday and work up to 10 percent over the course of the weekend. The flights impacted by these reductions are scheduled during the hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.