Even after the government shutdown ends, flight cancellations in the United States are expected to continue

NEW YORK (AP) — Flight cancellations are expected to continue at airports across the United States even after the government shutdown ends.

The Federal Aviation Administration reduced flights as some air traffic controllers — who had not been paid for weeks — stopped showing up for work.

The Senate took the first step toward ending the shutdown on Sunday, but final passage could take several days. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy clarified last week that flight reductions will remain in place until the FAA sees an improvement in safety metrics.

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Over the weekend, airlines canceled thousands of flights in compliance with the order to cancel 4% of flights. Cancellations are set to rise to 6% of all flights at 40 of the country’s busiest airports on Tuesday. The percentage of flight cancellations by the end of the week is expected to reach 10% of the total flights at those airports.

Already, travelers are becoming frustrated.

“All of this has real negative consequences for millions of Americans, and is 100% unnecessary and avoidable,” said Todd Walker, whose flight from San Francisco to Washington state was canceled over the weekend, causing him to miss his mother’s 80th birthday party.

As of Monday morning, airlines had already canceled 1,600 flights for Monday and about 1,000 flights for Tuesday. International flights are not affected.

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Alongside the mandatory reductions, flight delays have extended through airports across the country at times since the lockdown began. This is because the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) works to slow air traffic any time there is a shortage of controllers at one of its facilities to ensure flights remain safe.

Tuesday will be the second missed payday for air traffic controllers and other FAA employees. It is unclear how quickly their salaries may be paid once the lockdown ends. Superintendents Union President Nick Daniels plans to hold a news conference Monday morning to address the toll of the closure.

“The more superintendents don’t come to work day in and day out, the further they go without getting paid,” Duffy said.

The government has suffered from a shortage of air traffic controllers for years, and Duffy said the closure has exacerbated the problem, prompting some controllers to take early retirement or resign. Before the shutdown, Duffy had been working to address the shortage by hiring more controllers, accelerating training and offering rewards for retaining experienced controllers.

Duffy warned over the weekend that if the shutdown continues, the situation could deteriorate further as the United States heads into the busy holiday travel season. He said air travel may be “minimally reduced” by Thanksgiving week.

Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska. Associated Press writers Stephen Groves and Kevin Freking in Washington and Ryo Yamate in Las Vegas contributed to this report.