US flight cancellations begin after FAA shutdown order.

US airlines began canceling hundreds of flights on Friday, hours after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered the cuts amid a government shutdown that has been ongoing for more than a month.

The cuts came after air traffic controllers lost their salaries due to the government shutdown, which is now the longest in US history. A shortage of air traffic control personnel has disrupted flights at several major U.S. airports, angering travelers and airline executives alike.

This week’s sudden flight outages forced airlines to scramble to make schedule adjustments and ensure crews are where they need to be despite last-minute changes.

More than 700 U.S. flights were canceled as of 9 a.m. EDT Friday, according to aviation data company Cirium, about 3% of the day’s total schedule. This scale of disruption is fairly common for routine disruptions such as major thunderstorms, but the Department of Transportation has warned that cancellations may increase.

According to the FAA order, flight discounts will increase to 10% over the next week, starting at 4% on Friday, 6% by Tuesday, 8% by Thursday, and finally 10% on November 14.

Friday’s cancellation levels were the 72nd worst in the U.S. air travel market since Jan. 1, 2024, according to Cirium. That period also included a collapse at Southwest Christmas Day following severe weather and mass delays in Delta Airlines Last summer in the wake of the CrowdStrike outage.

The financial impact of the recent unrest is not immediately clear. The cancellations could help lift airline unit revenues as customers compete for fewer seats, “but we also believe prolonged closures and widespread cancellations will weigh on booking demand in the near term,” Scott Grubb, an airline analyst at Wolfe Research, wrote in a note on Friday.

The cuts come during a period of generally lower demand for travel ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, but still prompt many travelers to look for alternatives. Car rental company Hertz He said that bookings over the past two days for one-way rentals increased by more than 20% compared to the same period last year.

The major airlines in the network said the disruptions were largely focused on regional flights flying to smaller cities. United AirlinesFor example, it said its hub-to-hub flights and long-haul international flights will not be canceled because of the order.

American Airlines 221 flights were canceled on Friday, according to CEO Robert Isom, who said the airline was “disappointed” with the reduction.

The airline is working to ensure flights to all destinations remain in place, but the frequency of those flight routes is decreasing, Isom said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

“What we did today is we tried to minimize the impact on all of our customers — there are only 220 flights out of 6,200, and we did it in a way that actually impacts our smaller aircraft,” Isom said. “This level of cancellation will grow over time, and that is going to be a problem.”

Airlines have offered travelers alternative flights and waived change fees for affected customers.

Experts recommend staying on top of changing schedules by checking airline apps and websites, as well as checking the fine print regarding travel insurance.

AAA spokeswoman Aixa Diaz said the company recommends arriving at the airport two hours early to avoid long lines and avoid checking baggage if possible if flights are cancelled, though flexibility will be most important for all travelers during this period.

Travel insurance experts warn that policies do not always provide comprehensive protection for lockdown-related changes, and that refunds can often come down to the specific rationale the airline uses to determine the reason for the delay or cancellation.

According to Lauren McCormick, spokesperson for travel insurance platform Squaremouth, airlines sometimes won’t cite reasons other than general delays even during lockdown, which can make refunds more difficult.

Here’s where flights are expected to be cut, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) orders:

(The name of the airport in Las Vegas was changed to Harry Reid International Airport in 2021.)

– CNBC Greg Yacorsi She contributed to this report.