Washington, Nov 11 US airlines are preparing for another week of widespread travel disruptions, even as the Senate moved forward on legislation to end the 41-day government shutdown. More than 1,500 flights were cancelled, about 5.5 per cent of scheduled trips, according to flight tracking data.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the cancellations and schedule reductions are needed to ease pressure on air traffic controllers, who have been working without pay for more than a month. Flight reductions are expected to rise through the week, reaching 6 per cent on Tuesday, 8 per cent on Thursday, and 10 per cent on Friday.
Last weekend, roughly 5,000 flights were cancelled nationwide as restrictions at major airports took effect, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Sunday saw the highest level of disruption, with 10 per cent of all scheduled flights cancelled, the fourth-worst day for flight cancellations in the United States this year.
US President Donald Trump on Monday said controllers who failed to report to work would be “docked,” though he did not specify how the penalty would be applied. He also said he would recommend bonuses of $10,000 for controllers who worked throughout the shutdown.
“All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!! Anyone who doesn’t will be substantially “docked.” For those Air Traffic Controllers who were GREAT PATRIOTS, and didn’t take ANY TIME OFF for the “Democrat Shutdown Hoax,” I will be recommending a BONUS of $10,000 per person for distinguished service to our Country. For those that did nothing but complain, and took time off, even though everyone knew they would be paid, IN FULL, shortly into the future, I am NOT HAPPY WITH YOU,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration told the Supreme Court on Monday that it will continue its legal effort to withhold full federal funding for food stamps during the shutdown.
The move came hours after an appeals court refused to block a lower court’s ruling that ordered the government to fully finance benefits for about 42 million Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
In a separate development, a judge in Massachusetts granted a temporary stay requested by more than two dozen states to block the federal government from implementing that funding cut.
The bipartisan legislation in the Senate promises to reverse US President Donald Trump’s firings of federal employees and guarantees food stamp funding through fiscal year 2026.
On Sunday, a group of eight Democratic Senators broke ranks with their party and voted to reopen the federal government.
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