What is the story about?
(Reuters) -The Federal Aviation Administration told airlines on Thursday to cut 4% of flights at 40 high-traffic airports starting Friday, according to a document seen by Reuters.
The level then increases by two percentage points each on Tuesday and next Thursday, reaching 10% on November 14.
The cuts, expected to impact hundreds of thousands of travelers, seek to address safety concerns due to a shortage of air traffic controllers during a record-setting U.S. government shutdown.
AIRPORTS AFFECTED
* Anchorage, Alaska - ANC - Ted Stevens AnchorageInternational Airport * Atlanta, Georgia - ATL - Hartsfield-Jackson AtlantaInternational * Boston, Massachusetts - BOS - Boston Logan International * Baltimore, Maryland - BWI - Baltimore/WashingtonInternational * Charlotte, North Carolina - CLT - Charlotte DouglasInternational * Hebron, Kentucky - CVG - Cincinnati/Northern KentuckyInternational * Dallas, Texas - DAL - Dallas Love Field * Arlington, Virginia - DCA - Ronald Reagan WashingtonNational * Denver, Colorado - DEN - Denver International * Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas - DFW - Dallas/Fort WorthInternational * Romulus, Michigan - DTW - Detroit Metropolitan WayneCounty * Newark, New Jersey - EWR - Newark Liberty International * Fort Lauderdale, Florida - FLL - Fort Lauderdale/HollywoodInternational * Honolulu, Hawaii- HNL - Honolulu International * Houston, Texas - HOU - William P. Hobby Airport * Dulles, Virginia - IAD - Washington Dulles International * Houston, Texas - IAH - George Bush HoustonIntercontinental * Indianapolis, Indiana - IND - Indianapolis International * New York, New York - JFK - New York John F. KennedyInternational * Las Vegas, Nevada - LAS - Las Vegas McCarran International * Los Angeles, California - LAX - Los Angeles International * New York, New York - LGA - New York LaGuardia * Orlando, Florida - MCO - Orlando International * Chicago, Illinois - MDW - Chicago Midway * Memphis, Tennessee - MEM - Memphis International * Miami, Florida – MIA – Miami International * Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota – MSP – Minneapolis/St.Paul International * Oakland, California – OAK – Oakland International * Ontario, California – ONT – Ontario International * Chicago, Illinois – ORD – Chicago O’Hare International * Portland, Oregon – PDX – Portland International * Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – PHL – PhiladelphiaInternational * Phoenix, Arizona – PHX – Phoenix Sky Harbor International * San Diego, California – SAN – San Diego International * Louisville, Kentucky – SDF – Louisville International * Seattle, Washington – SEA – Seattle/Tacoma International * San Francisco, California – SFO – San FranciscoInternational * Salt Lake City, Utah – SLC – Salt Lake City International * Teterboro, New Jersey – TEB – Teterboro * Tampa, Florida – TPA – Tampa InternationalCUTS BY THE NUMBERS
* 1,800 flights and 268,000 airline seats are estimated tobe cut per day when the full 10% reduction takes effect,according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. * To meet the cuts on Friday, Delta said it would cancelabout 170 flights, Southwest about 120 flights and AmericanAirlines about 220 flights. United said it would cut 4% offlights but did not specify a number. * Airlines can face a $75,000 fine for each flight operatedover the limit, the FAA said. The agency threatened to imposecuts if carriers did not make cuts equitably across communities.(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
