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With the record-breaking federal government closure nears day 38, US skies will become less congested. Contrastingly for US air travel hubs.

Safety Measures Put in Place

The current administration's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said air travel is being curtailed to maintain air traffic control safety during the federal government closure, setting a new duration record and with no apparent progress of a resolution between conservative legislators and Democrats to end the federal budget standoff.

Airline regulators pinpointed “busiest routes” where the FAA says air traffic must be reduced by 4% by 6 a.m. Eastern on Friday, a move that would force airlines to call off thousands of journeys and cause a series of scheduling issues and hold-ups at some of the nation’s largest airports.

Administration Remarks

The administration's transportation head, Sean Duffy, commented on social media Thursday that the move was “unrelated to political motives” but rather “involving evaluation the data and alleviating accumulating danger in the system as flight directors continue working without pay”.

“Flying is safe today, tomorrow, and the day after because of the preventive measures we are taking,” he stated.

Flight Cancellations

Analysts forecast hundreds or even thousands of flights could be canceled. The flight decreases could represent up to 1,800 flights and over 268,000 seats collectively, based on an calculation by the aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Impacted Locations

The affected airports covering numerous states include the busiest ones across the US – such as Georgia's capital, North Carolina's city, Colorado's hub, Dallas/Fort Worth, Orlando, LAX, Florida hotspot and San Francisco. In some of the biggest cities – such as New York, Houston and Chicago – several air terminals will be involved.

Each of the three air terminals operating in the DC metro – IAD, BWI and Reagan National – will be impacted, inevitably causing delays and cancellations for government officials as well as the flying public.

Additional Developments

• Below is the list of US airports reducing air travel on Friday as a result of federal government closure.
• A former Department of Justice employee who tossed food at a federal officer during the current law enforcement increase in Washington DC was acquitted of assault by a DC jury on Thursday representing a recent legal rebuke of the federal action.
• Some Democratic legislators saw Tuesday’s big electoral wins as evidence they should hold the line and gain maximum concessions from GOP members before consenting to conclude the record-breaking budget standoff in history.
• Democratic officials lauded Nancy Pelosi as a “bold, groundbreaking” member of the US House of Representatives, an “icon” and the “most accomplished leader in American history”, following her statement that following two decades in Congress she plans to retire.
• The conservative leader, the chief of the political research group behind the policy blueprint, issued an apology for backing the commentator's interview with Hitler admirer Nick Fuentes, but is resisting calls to step down.